Villagers are angry about a road closure that has left them facing an eight-mile detour.
Derbyshire County Council has closed Longway Bank in Whatstandwell so trees can be felled to improve visibility from the driveway of one house.
But villagers have voiced their concerns because they are forced to use an eight-mile diversion on main roads or a five-mile route along country lanes. One resident claimed they were now driving about 120 miles extra a week in order to get to and from Derby due to the detour.
A county council spokeswoman said the road could be closed for another two weeks.
She said: "The land and the trees are not owned by us but we have agreed to close the road to ensure the safety of drivers, pedestrians and the contractors while work is ongoing."
No doubt the person having the trees felled will be "persona non grata" in the village, especially if the trees are poplar trees. I wonder how much all of this is costing? Must be a hell of a view.
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-19 03:09:10
Monday, March 19, 2007
It's Kid's play at Coors
Coors Visitors Centre in Burton is running a programme of events during the Easter school holidays.
Sessions include T-shirt printing, a shire horse day, creating fossil prints and an Easter trail.
All children between the ages of four and 11 are welcome.
Sessions cost £8.50 each. For details and to book a place, call 01283 513502
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-19 03:06:14
Sessions include T-shirt printing, a shire horse day, creating fossil prints and an Easter trail.
All children between the ages of four and 11 are welcome.
Sessions cost £8.50 each. For details and to book a place, call 01283 513502
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-19 03:06:14
Derby University wins award
The University of Derby has won a national award which recognises the importance of professionals working together to safeguard children.
The city's educational establishment beat off the challenge from other universities and NHS trusts to take the John Horder Award for innovation.
Derby's winning team featured law, social work and radiography academics.
Derby's entry centred on radiography students gaining first-hand experience of providing expert witness testimony in a mock court case.
The university collects the award at the Festival of Learning on Tuesday, March 27, at London's Royal College of Physicians.
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-19 03:03:15
The city's educational establishment beat off the challenge from other universities and NHS trusts to take the John Horder Award for innovation.
Derby's winning team featured law, social work and radiography academics.
Derby's entry centred on radiography students gaining first-hand experience of providing expert witness testimony in a mock court case.
The university collects the award at the Festival of Learning on Tuesday, March 27, at London's Royal College of Physicians.
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-19 03:03:15
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Cost of Olympics out of hand
Whether the 2012 Olympics is a good thing or a bad thing is a separate debate. What is crazy is that our winning bid was based on a budget costing of £2.375 billion and now the forecast is £9.3 billion.
But how will this affect us in the Peak District and Derbyshire?
Quite simply the government will mug the lottery to pay for a Games bill which has rocketed out of all recognition. Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary and Olympics Minister, confirmed an extra £675 million of lottery cash would be swallowed up.
That means that £2.2 bn of lottery cash will now be switched to pay the Games bill, which has soared due to an unforeseen £836 million VAT charge, extra security costs of £600 million and a £2.2 billion contingency fund demanded by the Treasury.
To the embarrassment of Miss Jowell, lottery, sports, heritage and arts bodies reacted in fury to the extra raid on good causes. Dame Liz Forgan, the chairman of the Lottery Heritage Fund, said: "This is bad news for the UK's heritage."
Peter Hewitt, the chief executive of the Arts Council England, which will lose a total of £112 million, said "we are disappointed more money is to be diverted from the arts to pay for the Games".
So what type of projects will be cut - church restorations, public park restorations, museum extensions, community arts projects etc etc.....
Cultural leaders accused the Prime Minister of hypocrisy for the raid.
Last week, Mr Blair spoke of his part in guiding Britain to a "golden age" for the arts.
He described how arts spending was a drop in the ocean compared to the commitments of other Whitehall departments and he said he would not countenance a return to the years of "boom and bust". Dr Ian Dungavell, director of The Victorian Society, said: "This is a disaster for everyone. Lottery money has been the single biggest source of support for heritage projects for many years.
"Our country's heritage makes up our identity. It is one of the reasons we won the Olympics in the first place. To slash the funding further just at the time when Britain is on show to the rest of the world will be a huge mistake."
David Barrie, director of The Art Fund, the country's biggest arts charity, which gives £4 million a year to buy objects for museums, said yesterday that Mr Blair's speech "now rings a little hollow".
He went on: "This looks to me like a short-sighted raid. The long-term effect is going to be pretty damaging."
It's a fair bet that the public purse will be stretched further, and good causes plundered again, before the Queen rides east to open the Games and why is this a cert try Tessa Jowell.
If the good lady couldn't be fagged to check the mortgage documents she signed with her husband, how can she be trusted to run a major undertaking like this? Nor can she expect too much sympathy for opting to place her political career ahead of her marriage to David Mills.
Can a culture secretary whose idea of culture extends to pub opening hours and super-casinos be the best person for the job?
There is a "contingency fund" of £2.7 billion in place, but you would have to be very wet not to know that the budget, having been trebled, will rise to the power of four or five before every steel girder is flattened into shape. Look at the shambles of the Millennium Dome and the debacle at Wembley.
There is plenty of scope for further embarrassment before this business runs its course and we will all end up paying for it one way or the other.
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-18 04:50:16
But how will this affect us in the Peak District and Derbyshire?
Quite simply the government will mug the lottery to pay for a Games bill which has rocketed out of all recognition. Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary and Olympics Minister, confirmed an extra £675 million of lottery cash would be swallowed up.
That means that £2.2 bn of lottery cash will now be switched to pay the Games bill, which has soared due to an unforeseen £836 million VAT charge, extra security costs of £600 million and a £2.2 billion contingency fund demanded by the Treasury.
To the embarrassment of Miss Jowell, lottery, sports, heritage and arts bodies reacted in fury to the extra raid on good causes. Dame Liz Forgan, the chairman of the Lottery Heritage Fund, said: "This is bad news for the UK's heritage."
Peter Hewitt, the chief executive of the Arts Council England, which will lose a total of £112 million, said "we are disappointed more money is to be diverted from the arts to pay for the Games".
So what type of projects will be cut - church restorations, public park restorations, museum extensions, community arts projects etc etc.....
Cultural leaders accused the Prime Minister of hypocrisy for the raid.
Last week, Mr Blair spoke of his part in guiding Britain to a "golden age" for the arts.
He described how arts spending was a drop in the ocean compared to the commitments of other Whitehall departments and he said he would not countenance a return to the years of "boom and bust". Dr Ian Dungavell, director of The Victorian Society, said: "This is a disaster for everyone. Lottery money has been the single biggest source of support for heritage projects for many years.
"Our country's heritage makes up our identity. It is one of the reasons we won the Olympics in the first place. To slash the funding further just at the time when Britain is on show to the rest of the world will be a huge mistake."
David Barrie, director of The Art Fund, the country's biggest arts charity, which gives £4 million a year to buy objects for museums, said yesterday that Mr Blair's speech "now rings a little hollow".
He went on: "This looks to me like a short-sighted raid. The long-term effect is going to be pretty damaging."
It's a fair bet that the public purse will be stretched further, and good causes plundered again, before the Queen rides east to open the Games and why is this a cert try Tessa Jowell.
If the good lady couldn't be fagged to check the mortgage documents she signed with her husband, how can she be trusted to run a major undertaking like this? Nor can she expect too much sympathy for opting to place her political career ahead of her marriage to David Mills.
Can a culture secretary whose idea of culture extends to pub opening hours and super-casinos be the best person for the job?
There is a "contingency fund" of £2.7 billion in place, but you would have to be very wet not to know that the budget, having been trebled, will rise to the power of four or five before every steel girder is flattened into shape. Look at the shambles of the Millennium Dome and the debacle at Wembley.
There is plenty of scope for further embarrassment before this business runs its course and we will all end up paying for it one way or the other.
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-18 04:50:16
Derby County 3 Cardiff City 1: Howards way inspires Derby
Derby County regained the top spot in the Championship from Birmingham City but the race for the title remains wide open. This performance from Billy Davies' men was not one of a team that will romp away with the Championship.
However, if they show the same spirit and determination to grind out results, like they did against Cardiff City, they may just find themselves becoming the Championship title winners.
Two goals from Steve Howard, who rushed off straight after the game to be with his wife who is set to give birth to another child, and a strike from Giles Barnes, enabled Derby to take a crucial win over Cardiff.
"It was a big game for both teams and a tremendous win for us," said Davies. "Once we scored our first goal we were the better team. This is an important three points." Of Howard, whose goal tally for the season now stands at 16 League goals, he had nothing but praise. "To his credit, he did not ask not to play because of his wife," he said. "He was excellent today and he showed what a great leader he is."
The Derby opening goal came after the Cardiff striker Steve Thompson handled in the penalty area. Howard duly stepped up and tucked away the resulting penalty kick with no fuss. However, Derby were in the lead for just four minutes before Cardiff restored parity. Thompson flicked on a goal kick from Neil Alexander but in attempting to clear the ball, the Derby defender Jay McEveley missed his clearance. Cardiff winger Paul Parry surged through and slotted the ball past Stephen Bywater in the Derby goal.
Cardiff had been stronger for much of the first half and it came as a blow on 34 minutes when their top scorer Michael Chopra was taken off the pitch with a hamstring injury.
"We looked a bit nervous in the opening half hour and I asked them at half-time to show more belief because the way they were playing wasn't reflecting their League position," said Davies. "It was important at half-time to get one or two to believe in themselves a bit more and it happened."
Derby were much stronger at the beginning of the second half and took the lead when Barnes raced on to a flick-on from Howard. The young attacker confidently put his side back into the lead by shooting low past Alexander. Howard sealed the points after he controlled a cross from the captain Matt Oakley on his chest before shooting low past Alexander.
The Cardiff manager Dave Jones said: "We were the better team in the first half and I am disappointed that we did not do enough to win it. But we should not have lost the game. We have a young side and we should have taken a grip when we were on top of the game. I think that they lacked belief in their ability."
Davies meanwhile was pleased that his three-year plan for Derby to find their way into the Premiership was so far ahead of schedule. "I didn't envisage this at the start of the season," he said. "We were looking at a long-term plan to get into the top flight. It was supposed to be about steady progression."
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season he added: "It doesn't matter about the team we play, we just have to keep on doing what we are doing irrespective of the opposition. There are no easy games."
With the enforced break for the forthcoming England games Davies has time to contemplate who will take on Howard's role now that he is suspended for two games.
Either ways WBA win today and 4 more wins from 7 will do.
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-18 02:50:13
However, if they show the same spirit and determination to grind out results, like they did against Cardiff City, they may just find themselves becoming the Championship title winners.
Two goals from Steve Howard, who rushed off straight after the game to be with his wife who is set to give birth to another child, and a strike from Giles Barnes, enabled Derby to take a crucial win over Cardiff.
"It was a big game for both teams and a tremendous win for us," said Davies. "Once we scored our first goal we were the better team. This is an important three points." Of Howard, whose goal tally for the season now stands at 16 League goals, he had nothing but praise. "To his credit, he did not ask not to play because of his wife," he said. "He was excellent today and he showed what a great leader he is."
The Derby opening goal came after the Cardiff striker Steve Thompson handled in the penalty area. Howard duly stepped up and tucked away the resulting penalty kick with no fuss. However, Derby were in the lead for just four minutes before Cardiff restored parity. Thompson flicked on a goal kick from Neil Alexander but in attempting to clear the ball, the Derby defender Jay McEveley missed his clearance. Cardiff winger Paul Parry surged through and slotted the ball past Stephen Bywater in the Derby goal.
Cardiff had been stronger for much of the first half and it came as a blow on 34 minutes when their top scorer Michael Chopra was taken off the pitch with a hamstring injury.
"We looked a bit nervous in the opening half hour and I asked them at half-time to show more belief because the way they were playing wasn't reflecting their League position," said Davies. "It was important at half-time to get one or two to believe in themselves a bit more and it happened."
Derby were much stronger at the beginning of the second half and took the lead when Barnes raced on to a flick-on from Howard. The young attacker confidently put his side back into the lead by shooting low past Alexander. Howard sealed the points after he controlled a cross from the captain Matt Oakley on his chest before shooting low past Alexander.
The Cardiff manager Dave Jones said: "We were the better team in the first half and I am disappointed that we did not do enough to win it. But we should not have lost the game. We have a young side and we should have taken a grip when we were on top of the game. I think that they lacked belief in their ability."
Davies meanwhile was pleased that his three-year plan for Derby to find their way into the Premiership was so far ahead of schedule. "I didn't envisage this at the start of the season," he said. "We were looking at a long-term plan to get into the top flight. It was supposed to be about steady progression."
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season he added: "It doesn't matter about the team we play, we just have to keep on doing what we are doing irrespective of the opposition. There are no easy games."
With the enforced break for the forthcoming England games Davies has time to contemplate who will take on Howard's role now that he is suspended for two games.
Either ways WBA win today and 4 more wins from 7 will do.
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-18 02:50:13
Pimp my ride grannies
A group of grandmothers from Leek, Staffordshire, have been travelling to their bingo matches in an old rust-covered bus with a broken wheelchair lift. But thanks to MTV their bus has had a Comic Relief style makeover.
Pimp My Ride UK presenter Tim Westwood and his team come to the rescue when they revamp the bus for a special red nose edition.
"It ain't right for gran to go to bingo in a battered and busted old bucket," Westwood said.
The results were shown on BBC1 last night, with the whole edition to follow on MTV on April 8.
Clickety Click
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-17 09:16:52
Pimp My Ride UK presenter Tim Westwood and his team come to the rescue when they revamp the bus for a special red nose edition.
"It ain't right for gran to go to bingo in a battered and busted old bucket," Westwood said.
The results were shown on BBC1 last night, with the whole edition to follow on MTV on April 8.
Clickety Click
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-17 09:16:52
Who is the greenest of them all - part three
In the final part of our search for the greenest party we look at the grand old man of politics. A man who is that old that he can remember the last ice age.
Sir Menzies Campbell and the Liberal Democrats
Personal
Formerly the owner of a classic Jaguar, Sir Menzies traded in his beloved gas-guzzler for a VW when he secured the Liberal Democrat crown. He has accumulated substantial air miles in the past year but in fairness, his constituency is North East Fife and all the carbon clocked up on his flights is offset. Ming has vowed to ditch cars in favour of tubes and trains wherever possible when he is travelling to appointments.
Political
The Liberal Democrats have perhaps the clearest and boldest policies when it comes to the environment. They back government plans for a 60 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, although they would likely strive for a more ambitious target and commit to annual progress reviews. The Liberal Democrats resolutely oppose a new generation of nuclear power stations and are committed to developing renewable energy sources, particularly wave and tidal power.
Green taxes introduced by the Lib Dems would be firm but fair, the party promises. The greenest cars would be subject to little or no vehicle excise duty while the most polluting motors would incur the most tax. Road pricing is a favoured policy, with a system based on location, congestion and pollution levying taxes which would then be invested in public transport and a national cycling plan.
On air travel, the Lib Dems seek to place the emphasis for environmental responsibility on flight operators, with airlines paying a tax on every plane that takes off from a UK airport, thus discouraging half-empty planes from flying.
The pragmatic and benevolent nature of Liberal Democrat policy makes it difficult to argue with, but given that they are the party least likely to form the government at the next election, it's fair to say they can afford to occupy a more idealistic ground.
So who is the greenest of them all?
It's a difficult call to make. In Labour we have a party who are unafraid to push through unpopular decisions but seem reluctant to be held accountable. The Conservatives have made the environment the key issue in the rebranding and repositioning of the party as a whole, but have yet to deliver any solid policy to back up their manoeuvring. The Liberal Democrats meanwhile exude clarity of vision and purpose when it comes to the environment, but of course, they have no chance of being elected.
What's really needed is a politician who is able to balance the environmental evangelism of David Cameron with the sheer bloody-mindedness of a Gordon Brown or Tony Blair, while heading up a party that boasts a portfolio of visionary environmental policy.
Anyone believe in miracles?
But for now, a cross-party consensus on the environment is as unthinkable as it is unworkable, even with the future of the planet at stake.
My green policy is simple. I have thought about the subject at length, about what should be done and how I could improve the situation. Having given great thought I have decided not to bother, but it is the thought that counts, isn't it?
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-17 03:28:40
Sir Menzies Campbell and the Liberal Democrats
Personal
Formerly the owner of a classic Jaguar, Sir Menzies traded in his beloved gas-guzzler for a VW when he secured the Liberal Democrat crown. He has accumulated substantial air miles in the past year but in fairness, his constituency is North East Fife and all the carbon clocked up on his flights is offset. Ming has vowed to ditch cars in favour of tubes and trains wherever possible when he is travelling to appointments.
Political
The Liberal Democrats have perhaps the clearest and boldest policies when it comes to the environment. They back government plans for a 60 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, although they would likely strive for a more ambitious target and commit to annual progress reviews. The Liberal Democrats resolutely oppose a new generation of nuclear power stations and are committed to developing renewable energy sources, particularly wave and tidal power.
Green taxes introduced by the Lib Dems would be firm but fair, the party promises. The greenest cars would be subject to little or no vehicle excise duty while the most polluting motors would incur the most tax. Road pricing is a favoured policy, with a system based on location, congestion and pollution levying taxes which would then be invested in public transport and a national cycling plan.
On air travel, the Lib Dems seek to place the emphasis for environmental responsibility on flight operators, with airlines paying a tax on every plane that takes off from a UK airport, thus discouraging half-empty planes from flying.
The pragmatic and benevolent nature of Liberal Democrat policy makes it difficult to argue with, but given that they are the party least likely to form the government at the next election, it's fair to say they can afford to occupy a more idealistic ground.
So who is the greenest of them all?
It's a difficult call to make. In Labour we have a party who are unafraid to push through unpopular decisions but seem reluctant to be held accountable. The Conservatives have made the environment the key issue in the rebranding and repositioning of the party as a whole, but have yet to deliver any solid policy to back up their manoeuvring. The Liberal Democrats meanwhile exude clarity of vision and purpose when it comes to the environment, but of course, they have no chance of being elected.
What's really needed is a politician who is able to balance the environmental evangelism of David Cameron with the sheer bloody-mindedness of a Gordon Brown or Tony Blair, while heading up a party that boasts a portfolio of visionary environmental policy.
Anyone believe in miracles?
But for now, a cross-party consensus on the environment is as unthinkable as it is unworkable, even with the future of the planet at stake.
My green policy is simple. I have thought about the subject at length, about what should be done and how I could improve the situation. Having given great thought I have decided not to bother, but it is the thought that counts, isn't it?
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-17 03:28:40
I hate red nose day
Having just argued with a Sainsburys' check out beast about why I wouldn't be purchasing an over priced red nose I now realise that Comic Relief will be on the television all night. Unfunny, embarrassing, self-worshipping ego monstrosity that it is.
It’s back. Worse than ever. And it’s everywhere!
The fact is it has become some kind of annual psychotherapy camp for delebrities (D-list celebrities) asking for your hard earned cash again!
But in between the hilarity, of course, there are those oh-so-serious bits about "what your money is doing". What our money is doing, of course, is paying the licence fee to show this pathetic blackmailing, has-been-revitalising drivel.
For most of us, however much we might hate the delivery, a combination of guilt and sheer ongoing hype will make us grudgingly put our hands in our pockets eventually, as we always have done, back to Live Aid and way before.
And that brings up another issue. When I look around and even do some research on the Internet, I still see lots of the kind of things we have been paying to put a stop to for about the last 20 years now. And not only that, I have never seen one thing to suggest that the money is really being spent in the way we are told.
So where are all these kids that we have allegedly helped? In Africa? Although it is conveniently very far away I don't think for one minute that tiny bore hole in the ground costs 10 million a year to maintain! I see all this money being collected but have no idea where it is actually being spent, because it certainly isn't anywhere near me. If I could just see a bit more evidence of the good being done then perhaps I would not be so suspicious.
Now there's another thing that makes me feel a bit uneasy about this situation. The television and radio companies (BBC radio is the worst) charge you £1 if you send a text to them, with 70p of this money going to Comic Relief. Err… excuse me, so where is the other 30p going to?
Why should we be asked to give generously when there are companies out there using these events to make a hefty profit? Surely they can do it at a reduced rate for Comic Relief? Why can't a larger portion or even better all of the money go to the people who REALLY need it? Oh no, of course not because it's not the big companies that stick their hands in their pockets; that's a job for us - the "paying" public.
It was even suggested that some celebrities got paid to appear.
If the show was a turn off beforehand the news that star billing was going to a lying, cheating, war mongering, smug b*stard with a plastic smile was the final straw. As if he’s not in enough “bovver”, Prime Minister Tony Blair tangled with Catherine Tate’s comedy chav teenager Lauren in a sketch for Comic Relief.
Typical of Blair to distract the well meaning public from his current troubles and provide him with a little comic relief. It is not the first time he has used this tactic.
Sorry its not for me and I reserve the right to donate to whom I please and not have it rammed down my throat by a bunch of over paid hypocrites.
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-17 02:39:32
It’s back. Worse than ever. And it’s everywhere!
The fact is it has become some kind of annual psychotherapy camp for delebrities (D-list celebrities) asking for your hard earned cash again!
But in between the hilarity, of course, there are those oh-so-serious bits about "what your money is doing". What our money is doing, of course, is paying the licence fee to show this pathetic blackmailing, has-been-revitalising drivel.
For most of us, however much we might hate the delivery, a combination of guilt and sheer ongoing hype will make us grudgingly put our hands in our pockets eventually, as we always have done, back to Live Aid and way before.
And that brings up another issue. When I look around and even do some research on the Internet, I still see lots of the kind of things we have been paying to put a stop to for about the last 20 years now. And not only that, I have never seen one thing to suggest that the money is really being spent in the way we are told.
So where are all these kids that we have allegedly helped? In Africa? Although it is conveniently very far away I don't think for one minute that tiny bore hole in the ground costs 10 million a year to maintain! I see all this money being collected but have no idea where it is actually being spent, because it certainly isn't anywhere near me. If I could just see a bit more evidence of the good being done then perhaps I would not be so suspicious.
Now there's another thing that makes me feel a bit uneasy about this situation. The television and radio companies (BBC radio is the worst) charge you £1 if you send a text to them, with 70p of this money going to Comic Relief. Err… excuse me, so where is the other 30p going to?
Why should we be asked to give generously when there are companies out there using these events to make a hefty profit? Surely they can do it at a reduced rate for Comic Relief? Why can't a larger portion or even better all of the money go to the people who REALLY need it? Oh no, of course not because it's not the big companies that stick their hands in their pockets; that's a job for us - the "paying" public.
It was even suggested that some celebrities got paid to appear.
If the show was a turn off beforehand the news that star billing was going to a lying, cheating, war mongering, smug b*stard with a plastic smile was the final straw. As if he’s not in enough “bovver”, Prime Minister Tony Blair tangled with Catherine Tate’s comedy chav teenager Lauren in a sketch for Comic Relief.
Typical of Blair to distract the well meaning public from his current troubles and provide him with a little comic relief. It is not the first time he has used this tactic.
Sorry its not for me and I reserve the right to donate to whom I please and not have it rammed down my throat by a bunch of over paid hypocrites.
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-17 02:39:32
Eco warriers to stay at Stanton for a bit longer
Stancliffe Stone submitted an application to allow them to extract an extra 1.1 million tonnes of gritstone from Dale View Quarry in exchange for giving up all quarrying rights on Endcliffe and Lees Cross quarries.
Protesters against new quarrying, whilst agreeing with the principle of the landswop, do not feel that it is an equitable exchange and want to see the requested extraction amount reduced from 1.1 million tonnes to 650,000 tonnes.
In a packed Peak District National Park Authority planning meeting on Friday (16) the feeling amongst protesters was that the proposals were "greedy" and "obscene".
Alan Martin, chair of Stanton Peak Parish Council said: "The application put forward is good in principle but it is greedy.
"I am in favour of the application provided the right tonnage can be decided.
"Stancliffe have a number of advantages in quarrying at Dale View instead of Lees Cross and Endcliffe.
"The infrastructure required is already in place at Dale View and the cost of moving the protestors on from the other site would mean serious money, the estimated cost of moving on the Newbury Bypass protesters was around £50 million."
Keith Garton, a concerned resident, called for the curbing of extreme mineral and rock exploitation, calling it an "obscene destruction of the countryside."
He said :"I am concerned for the wellbeing of the community and the irreparable damage to local countryside and tourism.
"It is in your power to make sure that Stanton Moor remains a very special place in the National Park."
The committee voted to defer the application decision for further negotiation on lowering the extraction amounts.
Chair of the planning committee, Narendra Bajaria, said: "We sincerely hope that by working together we can reach an acceptable agreement on the area and amount of stone to be extracted from Dale View.
"The community representatives who attended the committee were not against the principle of an exchange and a consensus is starting to emerge."
Speaking after the meeting Councillor Anne Zoyroydi from Stanton In Peak Parish Council said: "We are absolutely thrilled to bits, we all thought this was a rubber stamped decision but it seems that the views of the community have been listened to.
"We want Stancliffe Stone to come back to the table with a lower extraction figure.
"The consolidated views of the community won the day, we all spoke with one voice. It is a great result and we are so pleased."
Geoff Henson from the Stanton Lees Action Group said: "We are surprised by the result but very pleased, we are delighted that sense prevailed.
"Now we want Stancliffe to come back with a more equitable exchange that will better benefit the community and the special landscape of the area."
So it's back to the trees for the eco warriers on Stanton Moor - for the time being anyway. Just watch out for the high winds and snow tomorrow!
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-17 02:02:58
Protesters against new quarrying, whilst agreeing with the principle of the landswop, do not feel that it is an equitable exchange and want to see the requested extraction amount reduced from 1.1 million tonnes to 650,000 tonnes.
In a packed Peak District National Park Authority planning meeting on Friday (16) the feeling amongst protesters was that the proposals were "greedy" and "obscene".
Alan Martin, chair of Stanton Peak Parish Council said: "The application put forward is good in principle but it is greedy.
"I am in favour of the application provided the right tonnage can be decided.
"Stancliffe have a number of advantages in quarrying at Dale View instead of Lees Cross and Endcliffe.
"The infrastructure required is already in place at Dale View and the cost of moving the protestors on from the other site would mean serious money, the estimated cost of moving on the Newbury Bypass protesters was around £50 million."
Keith Garton, a concerned resident, called for the curbing of extreme mineral and rock exploitation, calling it an "obscene destruction of the countryside."
He said :"I am concerned for the wellbeing of the community and the irreparable damage to local countryside and tourism.
"It is in your power to make sure that Stanton Moor remains a very special place in the National Park."
The committee voted to defer the application decision for further negotiation on lowering the extraction amounts.
Chair of the planning committee, Narendra Bajaria, said: "We sincerely hope that by working together we can reach an acceptable agreement on the area and amount of stone to be extracted from Dale View.
"The community representatives who attended the committee were not against the principle of an exchange and a consensus is starting to emerge."
Speaking after the meeting Councillor Anne Zoyroydi from Stanton In Peak Parish Council said: "We are absolutely thrilled to bits, we all thought this was a rubber stamped decision but it seems that the views of the community have been listened to.
"We want Stancliffe Stone to come back to the table with a lower extraction figure.
"The consolidated views of the community won the day, we all spoke with one voice. It is a great result and we are so pleased."
Geoff Henson from the Stanton Lees Action Group said: "We are surprised by the result but very pleased, we are delighted that sense prevailed.
"Now we want Stancliffe to come back with a more equitable exchange that will better benefit the community and the special landscape of the area."
So it's back to the trees for the eco warriers on Stanton Moor - for the time being anyway. Just watch out for the high winds and snow tomorrow!
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-17 02:02:58
Opencast mine gets go ahead
For the past six months we have been reporting on events surrounding certain quarrying activities around the Peak District.
Now another environmental issue has concluded after a three year battle by local residents.
The Government gave UK Coal the go-ahead to mine a 334-acre site on greenbelt land close to Shipley Country Park and three Derbyshire villages, extracting one million tonnes of coal over four-and-a-half years.
Protesters from Shipley, West Hallam and Mapperley had tried to block the plans believing the mine will increase pollution and traffic as well as destroying local wildlife.
And they now feel the environment has been left unprotected by the Government's public inquiry outcome.
Smalley Action Group member Neil Paget said he was shocked by the approval.
"The travesty of this decision is all too apparent when the fundamental facts of the application are considered against the Government's planning framework, which is suppose to protect the environment and communities," added Mr Paget, of Heanor Road, Smalley
UK Coal, based in Doncaster, first applied to mine the site, around Lodge House, off Bell Lane in Smalley, in 2003.
Villagers objected to the scheme from the start because of the effect they believe it would have on them and the environment.
They also fear that it will lead to about 120 lorries a day travelling on local roads near Smalley Richardson Primary School.
Planning permission was refused by Derbyshire County Council in October 2004, but the company appealed and a public inquiry was held in May 2006, with the result yesterday.
The inquiry decision stated that the Secretary of State was satisfied that measures proposed by UK Coal to mitigate any effect on the environment and residents were "acceptable", or could be made acceptable.
These included setting specific noise levels that must not be exceeded, setting times when blasts can be carried out and protecting certain trees.
Rachel Severns, 36, lives in a cottage on the site of the planned mine with her two sons, William, 17, and Brandon, 10.
The new ruling will mean her home of 11 years, which she rents from UK Coal, will be demolished.
She said: "We were devastated by the news. We are going to be homeless if they go ahead."
Amber Valley MP Judy Mallaber said: "Why didn't the planning inspectorate realise the potential damage to the site and the local residents?"
The precedent set by this decision has appalling implications at both national and local levels. No accessible area of shallow coal is now immune from being torn apart.
The Public Inquiry was a sham with claims of unofficial planning policy change and the government inspector conveniently ignoring it's own guidelines.
The communities involved were told by Margaret Beckett herself that as long as there is a labour government there will be no relaxation of the guidelines advising refusal if the mining is against the best interest of the local community.
This decision has effectively marked a policy change, and this instance will be used to defend every other opencast application from now on.
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-16 10:24:00
Now another environmental issue has concluded after a three year battle by local residents.
The Government gave UK Coal the go-ahead to mine a 334-acre site on greenbelt land close to Shipley Country Park and three Derbyshire villages, extracting one million tonnes of coal over four-and-a-half years.
Protesters from Shipley, West Hallam and Mapperley had tried to block the plans believing the mine will increase pollution and traffic as well as destroying local wildlife.
And they now feel the environment has been left unprotected by the Government's public inquiry outcome.
Smalley Action Group member Neil Paget said he was shocked by the approval.
"The travesty of this decision is all too apparent when the fundamental facts of the application are considered against the Government's planning framework, which is suppose to protect the environment and communities," added Mr Paget, of Heanor Road, Smalley
UK Coal, based in Doncaster, first applied to mine the site, around Lodge House, off Bell Lane in Smalley, in 2003.
Villagers objected to the scheme from the start because of the effect they believe it would have on them and the environment.
They also fear that it will lead to about 120 lorries a day travelling on local roads near Smalley Richardson Primary School.
Planning permission was refused by Derbyshire County Council in October 2004, but the company appealed and a public inquiry was held in May 2006, with the result yesterday.
The inquiry decision stated that the Secretary of State was satisfied that measures proposed by UK Coal to mitigate any effect on the environment and residents were "acceptable", or could be made acceptable.
These included setting specific noise levels that must not be exceeded, setting times when blasts can be carried out and protecting certain trees.
Rachel Severns, 36, lives in a cottage on the site of the planned mine with her two sons, William, 17, and Brandon, 10.
The new ruling will mean her home of 11 years, which she rents from UK Coal, will be demolished.
She said: "We were devastated by the news. We are going to be homeless if they go ahead."
Amber Valley MP Judy Mallaber said: "Why didn't the planning inspectorate realise the potential damage to the site and the local residents?"
The precedent set by this decision has appalling implications at both national and local levels. No accessible area of shallow coal is now immune from being torn apart.
The Public Inquiry was a sham with claims of unofficial planning policy change and the government inspector conveniently ignoring it's own guidelines.
The communities involved were told by Margaret Beckett herself that as long as there is a labour government there will be no relaxation of the guidelines advising refusal if the mining is against the best interest of the local community.
This decision has effectively marked a policy change, and this instance will be used to defend every other opencast application from now on.
Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-16 10:24:00
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