Quarrying stopped on Longstone Edge!
We may be close to success!
Following the refusal of the House of Lords to consider an appeal by the quarry owners, work seems to have finally halted at Backdale Quarry. The Peak District National Park Authority has served an "Enforcement Notice" in relation to both Backdale Quarry (on the road from Calver to Hassop) and the Wager's Flat site (on the top of Longstone Edge). The quarry operators MMC Midlands have removed their rock crushing machinery, and the site is quiet at last.
But MMC have also taken the all of the crushed limestone - apparently in violation of the Court of Appeal ruling that clearly stated that limestone could only be removed from the site in a strict ratio to the fluorspar. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the limestone may have been moved to another local quarry (SLEG invites MMC to clarify the situation).
The Save Longstone Edge Group has pressed the Peak District National Park Authority to issue a "Stop Notice" if any material is taken from Wager's Flat.
Plenty of questions remain - such as whether MMC has acted illegally in removing limestone from Backdale and Wager's Flat, where it was taken, why the PDNPA allowed this to happen and the status of the limestone at Wager's Flat (which according to the courts must be treated as waste and used to fill holes left by the quarrying).
Perhaps the most important questions now concern securing the long-term protection for Longstone Edge. Watch this space!
See the photographs - machines (and the limestone) have gone!.