Residents Left Frustrated by Martin Wrigley’s Response

The Meeting

When campaigners met with Martin Wrigley MP, they came with clear asks:

Public assurance that any new quarry proposal would be judged under today’s laws, not yesterday’s mineral rights.
Written support for enforcing 110% biodiversity net gain, protecting bat corridors, and applying full scrutiny to flood and hydrology risks.
Help convening a round table with the Environment Agency, Natural England, Devon County Council, and residents.

The Response

What they got instead left residents frustrated:

Martin declined to back residents publicly, citing “neutrality.”
He suggested the project may already be a “done deal” and said: “we won’t be able to stop them.”
He dismissed the relevance of Teignbridge planning policies – despite these being material considerations in county-level decisions.
He refused to write to the Environment Agency or press for enforcement on biodiversity net gain, saying that would simply be asking agencies to “do their job.”
He has ghosted us on the request for a round table providing open transparent community engagement

Why It Matters

Words like “we won’t be able to stop them” risk demobilising residents before the legal tests are even applied. In reality:

Historic mineral rights are not a free pass. Dormant permissions require full modern review.
Councils can issue Prohibition Orders if workings have permanently ceased.
The company must meet today’s requirements on flood risk, biodiversity net gain, health and dust monitoring, and bat connectivity.

It looks and feels like a line is being pushed that this is inevitable. We will not accept that narrative.

Save Our Trees Campaign

The Bottom Line

Residents were left disappointed, but not defeated. The campaign is clear: this is not a done deal. If an application is submitted, it will face today’s strict standards. If it cannot meet them, it must be refused.

More Updates

22/09/2025

Time to draw the line on Bovey Basin quarry expansion

All minerals are finite. Ball clay included. Expansion cannot go on forever.

04/10/2025

Minerals are running out: Time to find alternatives to ball clay

All precious minerals are finite. Ball clay will run out and we can start preparing now. We live in a time of climate crisis, woodland loss, flooding, and polluted rivers, and still, companies talk about new pits as if there’s no alternative. The truth is, there are alternatives, and they’re already here.

22/09/2025

The Road to Nowhere: Broken Promises in the Bovey Basin

In 2013, we were told that destroying two copses of woodland was a necessary sacrifice for 50 years of progress. In 2025, we can see the reality: those promises were lies. The trees are gone forever, and the community is left with nothing but more quarrying demands.

18/09/2025

Mineral Rights – Less Than Powerful Here

Mineral rights from the 1960s are no free pass for quarrying in 2025. Old permissions must face today’s laws – from 110% biodiversity net gain to flood and water safeguards. Historic rights cannot override modern protections for our community, wildlife, and the River Teign.

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More reasons to object

Last Sanctuary for Wildlife

Home to a huge amount of wildlife including "big wings" the buzzard, many red deer, badgers, foxes and owls. Plus, protected species such as sand martins, bats, and of course hundreds of huge carp in the fishing ponds.

Toxic Dust in Our Lungs

Clay quarrying kicks up large amounts of silica dust, these tiny invisible particles damage and scar the lungs, causing asthma in children, COPD and even cancer.