CAMBS: Reservoir work could see 100 HGVs through village each day

ONE hundred heavy goods vehicles a day could soon be using a quiet Somersham road.

The public are being asked to comment on proposals for two new irrigation reservoirs in Colne - but the access road for the site would be built off Chatteris Road in the neighbouring village.

A public exhibition, where residents can express their opinions, will be held at the British Legion Hall, High Street, Somersham, on Tuesday.

In order to construct the reservoirs on the 29 hectare site at Bridge Farm, off Holme Fen Drove, Colne, the applicant proposes to extract 527,000 cubic metres of sand and gravel over a period of four and a half years.

The access road from the B1050 Chatteris Road will lead to approximately 100 vehicle movements per day using the B1050.

Over the period of the extraction, more than 164,000 lorries will use the already uneven road.

The planning process includes a formal consultation which will run until December 2, after which a decision will be made at a meeting of Cambridgeshire County Council's Development Control Committee on January 27, 2010.

Steve Criswell, county councillor for Somersham and Earith, said: "With the number of heavy goods vehicles planned to use the site, this proposal is one which the local community will have strong views about. I would encourage as many people as possible to come along to the exhibition, and have their say."

The address of the site is Bridge Farm, Holme Fen Drove, Colne, Huntingdon. However, the actual site is situated within Sutton, in East Cambridgeshire, with the access to the site running via Chatteris, in Fenland district, onto the B1050 in Somersham, Huntingdonshire.

To give your comments on this application or for further information, contact the Planning Team on 01223 718723 or email planningdc@cambridgeshire.gov.uk