Fears over Datchet gravel extraction plan
Alarm bells have been ringing in Datchet following the publication of plans to dig for sand and gravel on the outskirts of the village.
Cemex UK has applied to build a processing and concrete plant at Riding Court Farm, in Riding Court Road.
Chairman of Datchet Parish Council Linda O'Flynn is concerned. The site is understood to have been earmarked for gravel extraction as long as 20 years ago under the old Berkshire plan, which could make it hard to block now.
Theoretically it could be accessed by heavy vehicles without them going through the village, if they use the M4.
But Cllr O'Flynn said: "There could be 250 vehicle movements a day and we would need to make sure that proper litigation is put in place to ensure heavy vehicles do not just decide to come through the village because they think it's quicker.
"It would not be much use people running after a big fellow in a 15 ton truck trying to get him to stop."
Villager Shaun Paesano-Cox who lives with his wife in nearby Castle Avenue is also worried, after researching the effects of similar projects elsewhere in the country, including nearby Wraysbury.
He said: "In Rugby dust from a project like this settled over a wide area. There is a Montessori school near this site and the work will be going on for years."
But Ian Southcott, community affairs manager for Cemex, said that four routes were being considered for traffic if the extraction plan went ahead - none of them affecting the main village itself.
One of these would involve traffic heading towards the A4 at Slough and coming back via London Road.
He said the work would be a continuation of the extraction carried out at Kingsmead in Horton and that the proposed site had been officially earmarked for years.