The Peak District National Park Authority is waiting for the result of
a
Court of Appeal ruling
over the future of the controversial Backdale quarry at
Longstone Edge in
the Peak District.
The latest episode in the long-running dispute over the interpretation
of mineral extraction rights granted in 1952 was an Appeal Court
hearing on 12 February at which lawyers for the government and the Park
Authority sought to have a High Court decision allowing continued
quarrying at the site subject to a further inspection, overturned.
At the heart of the dispute is a legal argument over whether the 1952
mineral permissions allowing the extraction of fluorspar from the
quarry technically justifies the simultaneous extraction of limestone
and, if so, in what proportion.
Mining was halted by the decision of a government planning inspector,
but that was overturned by a High Court ruling in March 2008 and since
then quarrying has continued.
Now the Park Authority and government must wait for the Court of Appeal
decision on whether the High Court ruling can be overturned. There's no fixed date for the decision to be announced.
The case raises major issues about the preservation of our natural
landscapes, sometime tackled eloquently by Ed Douglas in a
Guardian
article which compares preserving the landscape
to looking after priceless works of art.
More information at
www.longstone-edge.org.uk
