By Rebecca Bream
Published: July 24 2007 03:14 | Last updated: July 24 2007 03:14
BP’s plan to resume storage of petrol and diesel at the Buncefield oil depot in Hertfordshire has been met by stiff opposition from business and council leaders in the area.
The Buncefield depot near Hemel Hempstead was the site of the largest explosion in peacetime Europe in December 2005 when a leak of petrol vapour caught fire. The blast injured 43 people, forced 2,000 from their homes and shut dozens of businesses.
The depot is owned by Total of France and Chevron Texaco of the US. BP and Shell own stakes in the British Pipeline Agency that operated storage tanks on the site and are part of the consortium running the West London pipeline supplying jet fuel to Heathrow.
BP said last month it planned to reopen its storage tanks at Buncefield and re-start supplies of jet fuel to Heathrow, subject to permission from Dacorum borough council and the health and safety authorities.
But there is strong local opposition to storing fuel at Buncefield, and business figures claim it could harm the area’s economic recovery.
Roy Bain, director of the Maylands Partnership, which is involved in the site’s regeneration, said there was “a degree of heightened anxiety regarding petrol storage”, and that some businesses might be driven away.
BP’s applications for planning permission to restart operations at the site are due to be discussed by Dacorum council in September.
The company said yesterday it was “very aware of the concerns of the business community”, but stressed that the explosion did not occur at its part of the site.
The company added: “We are working closely with the relevant authorities on our reopening plans … safety is our priority. We will not reopen the site until we have had the all-clear on safety issues.’’
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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