Wager's Flat
Landowner: Bleaklow Industries
Mineral Rights Owner: Bleaklow Industries
Operator: MMC Mineral Processing
Quarrying History:Green fields until July 2006. Quarried for limestone and fluorspar until 2007.
STATUS: Currently not being quarried, but quarrying could restart at any time.
Wager's Flat was, until May 2006, was a beautiful, unspoiled area on the top of central Longstone Edge, visible for miles in all directions – specifically, it can readily be seen from Chatsworth House and Bakewell.
Following the imposition of the second 'Stop Notice' on Backdale (in April 2006) limestone extraction there virtually ceased. Almost immediately, trial excavations were observed on Wager's Flat. By the end of August, full-scale quarrying was taking place.
Initially, any fluorspar that was being extracted was stockpiled at Backdale, and the limestone aggregate extracted was also transported to Backdale. Later aggregate crushers moved onto Wager's Flat, so that the limestone can be processed and sold directly from there. We also understand that the some fluorspar ore was sold to the operators of Cavendish Mill – Glebe Mines (the UK’s only processor of fluorspar ore).
Following the decision of the planning inspector in 2007 that set a limit to the ratio of limestone to fluorspar that could be extracted, quarrying stopped. However, since the High Court has overruled the inspector, quarrrying at Wagers Flat could resume at any time.
This is how Wager's Flat looked until May 2006, when MMC began trial excavations. This picture was taken in June 2005. The picture at the top of the page is how it looks now.