4th June 2023

Open Letter 

Wellbeing of people and nature at Craig yr Hesg  

Dear Minister

We are writing to you in exasperation about the permission given to Hanson Group Plc by Welsh Government to extend their licence to quarry and expand their blasting operations at Craig yr Hesg in direct opposition to the decision made by RCT CBC Councillors.

We are writing in solidarity with the people of Glyncoch and the surrounding areas impacted by this decision, people who have suffered the impacts of the quarry for decades. We are greatly saddened by the fact that our friends and neighbours in Glyncoch suffer from poor air quality and that their mental health continues to be adversely affected by the blasting at the quarry.

Planning Policy Wales is at odds with delivering the goals under the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (Wales) 2015 and the precautionary principle under the sustainable development duty. For the Planning & Environmental Decision Wales (PEDW) Inspector to say that ‘an acceptable proposal need not necessarily result in no harm of even no net harm’ to local communities is shocking. What kind of wellbeing is this? That the PEDW Inspector said ‘it is common ground that there would be no material harm in respect of the landscape character or appearance of the area, which is neutral in the final balance’ shows a total disregard for nature and the impacts the quarry has on local biodiversity.

As the people of Glyncoch watch the quarry edge closer and closer to their homes, we join together in our concern for the looming loss of habitat and biodiversity. When Welsh Government has declared a climate and ecological emergency and has scrapped all future road building we struggle to understand the logic behind allowing the expansion of Craig yr Hesg. In the face of extraordinary global challenges, it is fundamentally wrong that a corporate power like Hanson is favoured over the wellbeing of local people and nature. While the blue pennant sandstone at Craig yr Hesg might be of national significance for road building, the destruction of nature for road building which further fuels climate and ecological damage has to stop.

We are writing to voice our disappointment in the role you played in permitting the extension and expansion of Hanson’s quarrying license at Craig yr Hesg. Much as we admire many of the bold, forward thinking decisions Welsh Government has made to ensure the wellbeing of future generations – you have made a mistake on this one. We feel badly let down and would welcome a meeting with you to discuss how the situation can be rectified before it is too late.

Yours sincerely,