Maidenhead & Windsor

The Windsor and Maidenhead Royal Borough is continuing to work closely with a local community forum to minimise the impact of a recycling quarry in Maidenhead on local residents.

Borough officers are spearheading the work of the Hindhay Liaison Group – set up last September – to highlight and resolve environmental issues associated with the running of the Hindhay Quarry in Furze Platt, Maidenhead.

The group comprises Windsor and Maidenhead Royal Borough officers, local ward councillors, the Environment Agency, Summerleaze Limited which operates the site, contractors Lanz and a local residents’ group.

The quarry has planning permission for recycling inert construction waste with operations including the storage, processing, crushing and grading of construction material.

With the latest round of operations currently underway and scheduled to last for another three weeks, the group is reinforcing its commitment to monitoring the work at the site to ensure that there is minimal disturbance and impact upon local residents on the Sterling Homes estate, Gardner Road, Furze Platt Road, Winter Hill Road, Malders Lane and Cannon Court Road.

Windsor and Maidenhead Borough officers will be continuing their programme for monitoring dust and noise emissions. The borough has also carried out a survey of traffic movements to and from the site using Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs) and has conducted a comprehensive traffic assessment along Switchback Road to monitor traffic flows, speeds and frequency of movements throughout the day.

Cllr Humaira Javed, local ward councillor and chairperson of the Hindhay Liaison Group said this week: “We are totally committed to making sure the whole community is involved in important local issues such as this – to ensure that local residents are not inconvenienced unnecessarily during the period of operations at the quarry.

“We believe that it is vital to maintain regular dialogue with everyone involved so that we can tackle and resolve any problems which arise and discuss how improvements can be implemented – fostering an atmosphere of trust between partners who might sometimes have opposing objectives.

“There have been a few complaints in the past about vehicle movements and uneven road surfaces, leading to noise disturbance – but by working together we have successfully resolved
the issue to the satisfaction of both the residents and everyone involved.”

Mike Lowe, managing director of Summerleaze, the company operating the quarry, agreed. He said: “All our operations are carried out under the auspices of strict planning conditions and a waste management licence for recycling construction waste.

“But we very much welcome the opportunity afforded by the liaison group to keep vital lines of communication open and respond to concerns and issues swiftly and effectively.”

Owen Cutler, chairman of the Sterling Homes residents group, said: “We obviously have the interests of all our local residents uppermost in our minds in any discussions with the operators and everyone else involved.

“We are very pleased to be part of the liaison group which allows us to put forward suggestions which will be discussed openly and to feel that we are truly having our voices heard and respected.”

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead