Longstone Edge Public Inquiry - "a thoroughly depressing affair"

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John Horscroft (UKClimbing.com profile) reports:

The last day of the Longstone Edge Public Inquiry was a thoroughly depressing affair. The final statements by appellants Bleaklow Industries and MMC left me with the distinct impression that the hired guns have taken over Dodge City. As a result of a poorly drafted planning permission written in 1952 and its subsequent reinterpretation by a highly paid member of the legal profession, Bleaklow industries may well continue to get away with environmental vandalism on a grand scale. Absolutely no assumptions should be made about the outcome of this inquiry.

UKClimbing.com regular, Deepsoup (UKClimbing.com profile), was present at the inquiry for a number of days. His summation of the quarry owner's arguments is succinct (see thread),

'We acknowledge that we don't have planning permission for a limestone quarry. However, we are allowed to sell the limestone we dig up while we're mining fluorspar regardless of how much of it there is, and how little fluorspar. So we're going to dig a huge hole, flog off hundreds of thousands of tons of limestone, and sooner or later we'll work a bucketful of fluorspar along the way so that makes it legal, so ner ner ner.'

The sleek bastards even had the nerve to describe that sophistry as 'common sense'." A future as a legal correspondent beckons methinks.

The facts of the case, however, are stark. Little if any fluorspar, the primary focus of the '52 permission, has been sold. Public footpaths and roads have been destroyed, undermined and illegally diverted. None of the quarry workers are local and in fact, the jobs of local workers are being imperilled by Bleaklow's operation because limestone is being sold at a price that undercuts that produced by law abiding quarries. There is no economic imperative for the roadstone from Backdale, demand can be met from existing reserves. Apologists for Bleaklow industries and they're hired assassins, MMC, need to look at the facts. In his closing submission today, the QC for Bleaklow said, and I paraphrase,

"we cannot impose modern interpretations on the 1952 permission."


Guy Keating also reports at the British Mountaineering Council website:

"After 10 days of evidence, lengthy sessions of questioning, and much legal debate, the public inquiry into quarrying at Backdale in the Peak District concluded today with closing submissions from the quarry companies. The outcome is expected within the next 4-5 weeks....... "

Read Guy's report here.


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1 Mar, 2007
From Guy Keating at the British Mountaineering Council. Backdale inquiry ends. Looking good - Backdale Quarry... After 10 days of evidence, lengthy sessions of questioning, and much legal debate, the public inquiry into quarrying at Backdale in the Peak District concluded today with closing submissions from the quarry companies. The outcome is expected within the next 4-5 weeks....... http://83.231.159.41/bmcnews/NewsItem.aspx?id=1327
1 Mar, 2007
Just to clarify a bit, 'Looking good' is the ironic title of the photo with that report, not the prognosis for how the result will turn out. That seems too close to call... I mean, it seems to me (and everyone else who popped into the public gallery at any point over the 10 days) the right decision to make is bleedin' obvious. But then, having seen first hand what the lawyers mean by 'common sense' and 'plain english'* , I dread to think what the legal definition of 'bleedin' obvious' might be. Sean x *MMC's solicitor used the words 'plain and simple english' on the last day, right before he launched into an endless waffle about the meaning of the words 'winning' and 'working', and the difference between working limestone to win fluorspar, winning limestone whilst working fluorspar, winning this to win that whilst working the other, as opposed to working that one whilst working the other, winning the wok and wanking the workers. (To be honest I'm not sure about that last bit, I nodded off about an hour in.) Seriously, it was like the three stooges' "Who's on second base" sketch, but with just the one very pompous stooge, no jokes whatsover and longer than Lord of the Rings.
1 Mar, 2007
Nice to have a bit of light relief in this depressing tale, cheers for that :o)
1 Mar, 2007
Like the use of 'relief' there!
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