Quarry owners lose court battle

Protestors have camped at the quarry for years

Environmentalists have won the latest battle in a dispute over quarrying at a beauty spot in the Peak District.

The Court of Appeal ruled on Friday that Lees Cross and Endcliffe quarries, near Matlock in Derbyshire, should remain "dormant".

Protesters have been living in trees and tunnels at the site for five years to prevent any more quarrying.

Stancliffe Stone had appealed against an earlier High Court decision not to intervene on the issue.

Stone circle

The firm wanted to reactivate Endcliffe and Lees Cross quarries at Stanton Moor.

The quarries are classified as dormant, which means stone can no longer be excavated from them.

We now have to carefully consider the best way forward in the interests of protecting the National Park Peak District Park Authority

A panel of three Court of Appeal judges headed by Lord Justice Chadwick threw out the challenge, agreeing with the earlier High Court ruling .

That ruling said it is up to the local authority to determine the status of the quarries.

The Court of Appeal decision on Friday also denied any recall to the House of Lords on the issue.

The decision means that the operators cannot re-activate the quarries until modern environmental conditions have been imposed.

National Park Authority chair of planning Narendra Bajaria said: "While we welcome the Court of Appeal's ruling, we now have to carefully consider the best way forward in the interests of protecting the National Park.

"The original planning permission remains valid, and we will have to specify working conditions for the quarries unless an alternative solution can be found."

The quarries are located near the historic Nine Ladies stone circle in the Peak District.

Members of the Nine Ladies Anti-Quarry Campaign have been camped on Stanton Moor since 1999.