Chemical accident 'waiting to happen' (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Chemical accident 'waiting to happen'

CAMPAIGNERS fighting plans to store dangerous chemicals in their Wiltshire town say it is a disaster waiting to happen.

Residents in Cricklade were shocked to find Landsdowne Chemicals wants to use its base on the Chelworth Industrial Estate as a base to keep toxic and flammable substances.

They say their lives and wellbeing will be put at risk if North Wiltshire District Council chooses to grant permission for the plans.

Gerdie Schaffer is one of those objecting to Landsdowne's plans, one of her biggest fears is a tanker carrying chemicals crashing en route to the industrial estate.

She said: "The explosion at Hemel Hempstead has raised our awareness. Local residents are extremely concerned for their health and safety. There will be up to 200 chemicals stored there and we have had people look at the list and half of them are highly toxic and in certain circumstances some can be explosive.

"They tell their customers they have good access to the M4 and M5 but that's through Chelworth on a winding, narrow road.

"They have to come through Cricklade and we have a major traffic problem we have been dealing with for years. We don't want traffic carrying dangerous chemicals travelling through a town with more than 4,000 people."

Ms Schaffer went on to raise concerns about information given to planning officers which failed to mention the nature reserves which surround the ancient Saxon town.

She said: "The report said that there were no designated nature reserves but Blakehill Farm is 200 metres away and that's a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the North Meadow is two miles away and that's a SSSI and has international importance."

Cricklade Town Council has also raised strong opposition to Landsdowne's plans citing six main points as to why chemicals should not be stored in Cricklade:

* The Chelworth site is part of an area of special archaeological significance

* The road infrastructure is inadequate

* Risk of spillage in Cricklade during transportation

* It is against local development plans

* A risk of impact upon Blakehill nature reserve

* Prevailing westerly wing would put Cricklade at risk in the event of an accident

However, the application received no objections from Wiltshire Fire Brigade or the Environment Agency.

The decision on whether to allow Landsdowne Chemicals to store hazardous substances at the Chelworth Industrial Estate was set to be made as the Standard went to press. For details of how the decision went see next week's paper.