A coalition of eight major groups is calling on the
government to act now to stop quarrying at Longstone Edge or
lose 350 acres of irreplaceable Peak District landscape for ever.
It's now five years since Bleaklow Industries and MMC resumed the
mining of a 1952-granted mineral permission at the outstandingly
beautiful Longstone Edge in the Peak District National Park.
This week, the Longstone Edge Coalition (LEC), an alliance of
eight major environmental and conservation groups, has written to the
Government urging DEFRA to provide immediate financial support to the
Peak District National Park Authority to halt continued devastation
caused by the quarrying.
In a letter to the Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn MP, Ruth
Chambers, Deputy CEO of the Campaign for National Parks has urged the
Government to "give the highest priority" to saving Longstone Edge.
She comments: "The irreplaceable national park land at Longstone
Edge has, this year, suffered five years of devastation from
quarrying.
"The Government must act now to save this precious land that
it is bound to protect, because fresh ground is being cleared
for further quarrying."
The Ramblers' Association is also behind the campaign and is
calling for the government to step in 'to help the national park
authority stop the demolition.'
Funding Needed
The LEC, which includes both the Ramblers Association and the BMC
wants the revocation of the 1952 mining permission and for the
government to provide funds for the court appeal against the decision
of the High Court to allow the resmption of quarrying on the
site.
If the appeal fails, another option may be for the government to
buy out the mineral rights from the owners and to close the quarry.
A 2007 public inquiry had ruled that quarrying of limestone at
Longstone Edge was illegal and must stop, but this decision was
overturned.
More background at www.peakdistrict.gov.uk
and www.longstone-edge.org.uk.
