'Urgent Government action needed to save Peak District from quarry threats' says major coalition

17 April 2008
 
A major new coalition of national and local environmental and amenity groups¹, including the British Mountaineering Council, the Council for National Parks, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Friends of the Earth, Friends of the Peak District, Plantlife, the Ramblers' Association and the Save Longstone Edge Group today called on Government Ministers to step in and save the Peak District National Park from uncontrolled quarrying.

The coalition has formed in the wake of a recent High Court judgement which overturned a public inquiry decision in 2007 in which a Government planning inspector had ruled that excessive limestone quarrying at Backdale Quarry on Longstone Edge was illegal and must cease².  The High Court judgement has reversed this finding and instead allows potentially uncontrolled limestone extraction which threatens to remove nearly all of the 350 hectare, eastern end of the noted beauty spot.  Local residents are horrified at the impact this could have on recreation, tourism and wildlife.  The judgement could also act as a precedent, allowing increased damage at other quarries, both in the Peak District and beyond.

A coalition spokesperson, Ruth Chambers, Deputy Chief Executive of the Council for National Parks, said "Quarries like Backdale, whose planning permission dates from the 1950s, can cause enormous environmental damage to the countryside if they are not subject to modern environmental standards.  This case must now be regarded as a priority for Government intervention if landscape protection in our National Parks is not to be made a laughing stock".

The groups have called on Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for planning, to challenge the High Court decision and for Hilary Benn, Secretary of State at Defra (responsible for National Parks in England) to provide substantial financial resources to allow the Peak District National Park Authority to exercise its powers to revoke the permission and pay compensation to the landowner and quarry operator if necessary.

Dr Steve Furness, a local resident and long time member of the Save Longstone Edge Group, added: "Unfortunately, local planning powers have failed us so far, and so we implore anyone who loves the Peak District to write to MPs and the Ministers concerned to ensure that a permanent solution is found quickly.  Otherwise we will lose the Edge we love forever".

Notes to Editors
1.     Information about each coalition group member can be accessed on their respective websites at:
British Mountaineering Council http://www.thebmc.co.uk/
Council for National Parks http://www.cnp.org.uk/
Campaign to Protect Rural England http://www.cpre.org.uk
Friends of the Earth http://www.foe.co.uk/
Friends of the Peak District http://www.friendsofthepeak.org.uk/
Plantlife http://www.plantlife.org.uk/
Ramblers' Association http://www.ramblers.org.uk/
Save Longstone Edge Group http://www.longstone-edge.org.uk/
2.     Planning permission was granted in 1952 by the Minister for Housing and Local Government to allow "the winning and working of fluorspar and barytes and for the working of lead and any other minerals which are won in the course of working those minerals, by turning over old spoil dumps, by opencast working and by underground mining".  Further information regarding the public inquiry, associated High Court judgement and a timeline of events is available at http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/longstone-edge 

For press queries please contact:
Ruth Chambers, Head of Policy on
020 7924 4077 ext. 222