John Whittingdale, Member of Parliament for Maldon and East Chelmsford, had a meeting yesterday with Don Touhig MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, to press for further action to reduce the disturbance and distress caused to thousands of people living in the Maldon District and beyond caused by noise and vibration resulting from explosions at the Shoeburyness Ranges.
John Whittingdale joined five other MPs from Kent and Essex to demand that this problem be addressed. The Minister stated that Qinetiq, the company administering the site, were already establishing a new Community Liaison Officer to act as a point of contact for local residents wishing to complain. However, he went on to promise that a full scale review would be undertaken which would include a total evaluation of all operations at the Ranges and consideration of possible alternative sites.
John Whittingdale said: “I recognise the importance of the work done at Shoeburyness to test and evaluate munitions. However, much of the disturbance is caused by the disposal of obsolete stock and military waste. This is often highly unstable and has to be transported through populated areas of East London to Shoeburyness. There are a number of alternative sites away from centres of population where this could be done which would be far more appropriate.
I have been raising this issue with successive Ministers for over ten years but the problem has, if anything, got worse not better. These explosions cause damage to property, result in distress to pets and livestock and severely affect the quality of life of my constituents. Measures to set up phone lines for complaints, to monitor noise and vibration and to restrict activity when the wind is in the wrong direction have all proved largely ineffectual. I am delighted that at last we have got the agreement of the Minister to carry out a wholesale review to see if this work cannot be carried out in a more remote area. I hope that this means that my constituents can at last look forward to a quiet life.
