Oxted Sandpit, May, 2015

Scramble Bramble · May 7, 2015

Oxted Sandpit has been out of operation for some time, I'm not entirely sure again of how long but any one who can find that info out: I would love to know.

I can say that in 2011 there was a local council plan to extend the site in order to extract another 200,000 tonnes of sand. Subject to approval, the work would have been put out to tender to a number of mineral extraction companies already operational in the area.

However, the plan was never approved because the area had become a vital nesting area for Wintering lapwing, bullfinches and Sand Martins among other species of bird. Equally, a notable celebrity who lives local to the area/next door to the sandpit joined the campaign to halt plans for an extension.

In 2014, another application was forwarded for none other than...INERT LANDFILL......the application was deferred for further consideration of ecological factors.

So, if you're exploring another site in the aforementioned town, why not take a trip to this place too.

not much too see, so ill keep the images brief and to the point.

enjoy!

[url=http://postimage.org/]

http://postimage.org/

smiler · May 7, 2015

Nice One, Thanks

AdamBrock64 · Jul 10, 2015

Hey, nice find. I live literally 5 minutes away from here. Is there any chance you can tell me whether or not it's difficult to get into or any security? Better to be safe than sorry. Cheers

krela · Jul 10, 2015

Sorry AdamBrock but questions like that aren't allowed here. If you only live 5 minutes away you can go and find out for yourself!

mookster · Jul 10, 2015

Nice Lada Niva..as krela said if you are that local just go look for yourself.

Retro Warrior · Dec 2, 2015

Oxted Sandpit

In reply to Scramble Bramble's question about Oxted Sandpit, apparently it was worked "for soft sand and gravel for a 20 year period between the mid 1970s and mid 1990s". Documents and reports relating to the current planning application for this site should be available to view by visiting Tandridge Council offices in Oxted. I was one of the two people who spoke in objection when this application went to committee in 2014 and with the help of supportive members of the committee, got it deferred on the ecological aspects. I was objecting to the destruction of the cliff where the long-standing colony of Sand Martins keep returning to breed. They are very selective, choosing only one cliff in the sandpit and are confined to a stretch of 100+ holes, so can change from year to year which holes they breed in. I counted by way of film analysis, 50 holes used for nesting this year. Sadly, the application for inert waste landfill is due to go to committee again in January and the new "mitigation" proposal for the Sand Martin colony still proposes infilling against the cliff, despite the shared view that the cliff is of exceptional value and the infilling should steer well clear of it. I am objecting again. The Lapwing you mention also breed here, which is a particularly big deal because this species is on the IUCN Red List and the British breeding population crashed. Local bird watchers also had sightings this year of Little Ringed Plover which is a Schedule 1 species in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Ecological surveys were done as part of the application process and, particularly amongst the invertebrates, many interesting species were recorded because of the specialist nature of the site, i.e. bare ground (sandy) conditions, which the authorities argue need to be "restored" by "infilling". This is ignorance causing loss of rare wildlife. Your photographs show some of the unauthorised works carried out by the site owner and were repeatedly reported to the authorities, to the point that the police visited in 2014 and commented that they thought vehicles could have disturbed breeding Lapwing. Please know that anyone entering the pit could be disturbing these sensitive species and adds weight to the current argument by the applicant/site owner that the proposal must go ahead because it is unsafe.