East Midlands: Quarries in the Park

The East Midlands Politics Show comes live from the scarred heart of the Peak District.

As the Peak District National Park faces demands from quarry operators to mine more of the region's resources, how can the Park authority meet its primary obligation - to conserve the district's unique environment.

The Peak has 70 mineral sites, more than all the other British National Parks put together - though they are not all active.

The nine active limestone quarries extract several million tons a year, mainly supplying the construction and road-making industries, as well as chemical manufacturers.

Permissions predate park

But most of the original planning permissions date from the 1940s and fifties before the Park was established.

And the chairman of the Park's planning committee, Narendra Bajaria, says it's time the Government gave them new powers to confront the problems posed by current industry practices.

The former deputy leader of the Labour Party, Lord Hattersley, says: "In the early days, men worked with shovels and sticks of dynamite.

"Now a huge land mover can cut away an entire hillside."

Order to stop quarrying

The Park has just issued an order stopping all work at Backdale quarry near Longstone Edge.

While a planning row with the Park authority trundled on, the operators excavated more than a 500,000 tons of limestone over a period of just two and a half years.

Now, as the Politics Show will be exploring, DEFRA, the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has agreed to pay a substantial proportion of the Park's legal costs.

Dormant quarries

We also be looking at the controversy surrounding two dormant quarries at Stanton, close to the ancient Nine Ladies monument.

The stone circle will attract hundreds of visitors later this month when they gather to celebrate the Summer solstice.

Presenter, Marie Ashby, will be asking if a compromise that removes the threat to the Nine Ladies is in sight?

If it is, it will be good news for the eco activists who set up camp there to stop the dormant quarries reopening.

Marie's guests will also include the Conservative MP for Derbyshire West, Patrick McLoughlin and Nicholas Thornhill who owns four quarries in the area.

Join presenter Marie Ashby on the Politics Show on Sunday 18 June 2006 at 12:00 on BBC One.

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