On the 4th August 2005 at an Extraordinary Meeting of Radley Parish Council, at which members of the public were invited to speak, David Buckle said:

In 1981 at a public meeting in the Village Hall, Didcot Power Station Managers presented their case for in-filling the lakes with Fly Ash. Several members asked if there were any dangerous substances in the Fly Ash and were told, "no because they would be using British coal...

During many meetings at the Power Station since, Parish Councillors have been re-assured the Fly Ash was safe to deposit in lakes. In recent years, Managers have informed the Parish Council that they have been using coal from South America and Poland, I, like others, have been wondering if there are dangerous substances in this different coal which we should know about.

I doubt if there are many of us at this meeting who are qualified to comment on the highly technical details of what dangerous substances may or may not be found in the present fly ash. We were always assured there was “very little" and “nothing to cause concern". If we now believe otherwise, the County Council should be finding out, through an independent source such as the Environment Agency. If they discover any dangerous substances, we are entitled to know, and the present planning application decision should have regard for that fact.

There are two other issues I would like to mention.

i)

The two remaining lakes are an important habitat for many forms of flora and fauna and we should a11 be doing everything we can to protect them. With many lakes already gone for ever we should not add to this loss.

The Vale of the White Horse District Council say in their 'Relevant Planning Issues” advice that grounds for objection to a Planning Application can be "Loss of Important views that are part of an area's character”. That certainly applies to the two remaining lakes.

However, having said that, please remember. P1anning is not science, it's a black art and many mistakes have been made.   

ii)

The last large lake is a civil amenity and should be left alone. Radley should say in response to this latest p1anning application that having experienced 23 years of in-filling of several lakes, - enough is enough.

Later in the meeting, Mr Buckle mentioned that he understood N Power sell 45% of their fly ash for commercia1 use. He said they could make an effort to sell the other 55%, and no longer deposit it at Radley.