Many people ask how many lorry trips would be involved if gravel extraction took place in this area. We will try to answer that question making certain assumptions and using the information available.

Two ‘nominations’ have been received by OCC from Cemex and Hanson. The area covered by these is Langford – Clanfield. Each of the nominations states that equipment will be installed to produce 450,000 tonnes p.a. (tons and tonnes are very similar). We assume that the companies will, for economic reasons, seek to run the plants at full capacity.

In one plant alone using lorries capable of carrying 20 tonnes this would require 22,500 loaded trips a year. If the site was worked for 5 days a week for 50 weeks in a year the number of loaded trips a day would be 90. Working an 8-hour day it would mean a loaded lorry every 5.33 minutes.

But the lorries have to return empty so the figures now become: 180 trips a day, one lorry every 2.66 minutes.

Then on top of this there is equipment, machinery, other supplies and personnel, no doubt, to come in and out. If these large excavations are to be filled in the number of lorry trips can be doubled.

Other sums can be worked out on a ‘What if’ basis for 40-tonners or different working weeks but these are the basic figures. They are really terrifying in an ancient historical area with no large roads, weak hump-backed bridges, many small villages and a flat landscape.