Stop notice withdrawn at Backdale Quarry
THE Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) has told MMC Mineral Processing Ltd, the operators of Backdale Quarry on Longstone Edge, near Bakewell, that it will consider further action if any resumption of quarrying at the site results in unlawful mineral working.
The warning came after the PDNPA withdrew its May 2006 stop notice following a decision by planning inspector David Baldock to uphold the Authority’s enforcement notice, with some amendments, after a two-week public inquiry earlier this year.
The inspector’s amendments to the enforcement notice mean there is some potential for the working of limestone, secondary to the extraction of fluorspar, in the area covered by the notice, however the PDNPA has advised MMC Mineral Processing that it will be monitoring the site and will act swiftly if it believes any future limestone extraction is in breach of planning control.
The quarry’s landowners, Bleaklow Industries Ltd, have applied to the High Court for leave to challenge the planning inspector’s decision.
The PDNPA has a separate stop notice in place on Wagers Flat, to the west of Backdale. This was served after the inspector’s decision on Backdale was known and stays in place.
As with Backdale, the operator can continue to excavate proven reserves of fluorspar and remove limestone that is secondary or subordinate to the fluorspar working. The Authority also has an enforcement notice in place on Wagers Flat. Both the landowner and the operator have appealed against this notice.
