Firm told to stop quarrying work

A public inquiry into the quarrying issue will open in April

The Peak District National Park has ordered a quarry firm to stop mining limestone at Longstone Edge.

The authority said it issued the stop order for Backdale Quarry's operators MMC Mineral Processing because the work was "irreparably damaging" the area.

MMC and landowner Bleaklow Industries have until Sunday to stop their work.

The two firms said their activities are within the planning consent, but declined to comment until after a public inquiry in April.

The authority's planning committee said the "escalation of the quarrying activities are causing irreversible harm to the landscape".

It is holding a public meeting on 30 January in Calver to keep residents, environmental groups and other interested parties informed of developments.

The firm will still be able to take some florspar and limestone from a small area of the site.

Their 1952 planning permission only allows them to take out limestone in the course of working other minerals.