road protests 2000   |   road protests (current)   |   movement links

From: "Loombreaker" (loombreaker@nematode.freeserve.co.uk)
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 14:48:49 +0100
Subject: Loombreaker No.11

Nineladies Head for London

By the time that Loombreaker goes to press, activists from Nineladies, near Matlock in Derbyshire, will have staged a series of protests in London on May 16th. Starting outside the offices of the Department of the Environment early in the day, the protests would have moved to Parliament Square in the afternoon followed by a visit to the Houses of Parliament. At some point a performance is happening which will involve the formation of a "stone circle". Presuming all goes well a picnic in St. James' Square will be held early in the evening.

As reported in Loombreaker 8, Stancliffe Stone Ltd. intends to quarry 35 acres for 24 million tonnes of gritstone in a national park area of outstanding natural beauty, and to within 250 metres of a stone circle. This is on the basis of consent granted in 1952. The site lies along a geological fault line and there are fears that quarrying will cause landslides, something that has already occurred at nearby quarry sites. The proposed quarry will cut off supplies of local spring water.

The good news is that a hearing on the development may happen on the 17th May. This follows legal advice from the Queen's Counsel which revealed new guidelines relating to planning permission when dealing with operators who wish to quarry with old consent. Local activists believe that planning permission is unlikely to be granted. What is more, a stop order has been placed on the company to prevent them making site preparations prior to receiving permission. However, nothing is guaranteed, and if the hearing goes for Stancliffe, then permission may be granted and the stop order lifted. At the site itself there are now plenty of tree houses in situ, and people are welcome to join the site and enjoy the surroundings in the summer days and beyond.

For more details, and to find out if the actions and the court hearings went well, contact: 01270 500930.

Hopefully there will be a little bit about it in the next Loombreaker.

road protests 2000   |   road protests (current)   |   movement links