Isle of Wight residents concerned at proposals for an Asphalt plant on the banks of the River Medina have created a Facebook page.
They say the page will be a place for residents and businesses of East Cowes and Cowes to share their concerns about the impact of the proposed Asphalt plant.
The group are also inviting members of the public to attend a town meeting in East Cowes Town Hall at 7pm on Tuesday 15th May.
Background on Asphalt
The Facebook Page explains …
Asphalt is used in the laying of roads and in simple terms is made up of particulates such as stones and sand “stuck” together with bitumen, a bi-product of crude oil similar to tar.
This proposed plant, if successful will run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for the next 25 years.
The main areas of concern with such a plant are:
- Small dust particles which can be breathed in which if in high enough quantities can cause respiratory problems, exacerbate conditions such as asthma, cause skin and eye irritation and lung cancer,
- Large dust particles which coat surfaces causing a nuisance, dirt etc,
- Odours from the bitumen (the same as the smell caused by road laying but for 25 years!),
- Noise from the movement and crushing of materials, machinery lorries etc,
- Impact on the environment of water runoff contaminated with chemicals into the medina,
- Visual impact
The impact assessments include East Cowes (Medina view (Lifeboat pub), Kingslea Park, Kingston Road, Power station, when considering visual impact, however dust and odour assessments fail to take any of these areas into account, while stating that the prevailing wind comes from the South west towards these areas most of the time.
Not all opposition
The County Press reported last week that despite the opposition of some residents, the application had received support from the Medina Mariners’ Association.
The charity, “aims to protect and preserve the amenities and environment of the Medina estuary”.
See the Residents Against Asphalt Facebook Page
For full details of the application, see the council website.
Image: liebeslakritze under CC BY 2.0
