Surrey County Conservatives

Lib Dems misleading on minerals 7th December 2005

County Conservatives have reacted with disbelief over a misleading statement, issued yesterday by the Lib Dems, on the county's minerals strategy.

Despite the strategy, for rejecting SEERA's targets, being widely praised across Surrey two weeks ago the Lib Dems have only now issued a response.

There statement is misleading as SEERA, not the county council, sets the overall regional target, including Surrey's apportionment, and SCC has already made it clear that it will struggle to find sites to meet the proposed regional apportionment.

Conservative county leaders rejected the Government's calls to increase the amount of quarrying done in the county at a meeting of the Executive on 8th November, warning the proposed increase, of 15% per year in digging for sand and gravel, was unsustainable and would put too many strains on the county.

Commenting David Munro, Conservative Environment spokesman, said:

I simply could not believe my eyes when I read their statement. This was reported over two weeks ago across Surrey and the Executive received praise for it's rejection of SEERA's targets. Has it really taken them so long to understand it all, even now I really don't think they've had long enough, for they still don't realise that it is the regional assembly, and not the county council, which sets these targets.

We have been lobbying hard to SEERA to revise these targets and reduce them to a much more sustainable level, the proposed for Surrey is unacceptable, yet thanks to the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 our hands are now tied.

Once again we ahve another example of the Lib Dems simply playing in the sand pit while the Conservatives are fighting hard for the interests of Surrey's residents.