A quarrying company remains at its airfield base in Wiltshire long after the deadline for its departure.

After having a retrospective planning application turned down and losing a subsequent planning inspectorate appeal, Earthline was ordered to leave Wroughton Airfield by early November 2023 and return the site to its previous state.

The haulage and aggregate firm has stopped its lorries operating in the area, but it was also required to remove buildings it had put up at the Hangar Six site as well as hard standing it had laid on the ground and revert other changes. This had not been done by the deadline. 

Drone photos of the site taken last month show that the headquarters remain largely unchanged. 

But an Earthline spokesperson has confirmed that the company is are still waiting for agreements to be made for a site for a new headquarters as well as potential buyers for parts of the old one which has delayed things. 

"We are still waiting for solicitors to do their thing and for the new location to be transferred to us but this is taking longer than we would like," they said. 

"We have two potential buyers for the office, so that could be removed very shortly.

"All of the trucks have been moved offsite which was the biggest issue for locals and we’ve started backfilling some of the gravel areas, but the bad weather has restricted some of that work because it has been slightly wetter than normal,

"We expect the office to be moved, or to be taken down in the very near future, just waiting for one of these two."

The firm had made a planning application for Wheatleys Farm in Ashton Keynes. 

This involved the extraction and processing of sand and gravel as well as a processing plant, silt lagoons, weighbridge, wheel wash, site office and welfare facilities with staff parking, which would suggest this location was being considered for a new headquarters. 

But Wiltshire Council refused permission for this in January, stating "This planning application has been processed proactively. However, due to technical objections or the proposal's failure to comply with the development plan as a matter of principle, the local planning authority has had no alternative other than to refuse planning permission."

Another application for the extraction and processing of mineral restoration in Marston Meysey is currently under consultation. 

Meanwhile, A Swindon Borough Council spokesperson said: "We are disappointed that Earthline appears to continue to be operating in breach of an enforcement notice and we are currently working hard to rectify this situation.”