Skip Navigation | Sheffield IMC | UK IMC | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

UK Indymedia UK Indymedia Sheffield Indymedia Sheffield Indymedia

BBC Investigates a Planning Decision of National Importance

Steve Leary | 17.09.2012 10:42 | Climate Chaos | Energy Crisis | Social Struggles | Birmingham | Sheffield

The 8th LAON Press release explains why the BBC's Counrtyfile Programme is investigation a Planning Decision which has national implications if it is not altered. The press release gives details of the campains that have been launched to both overturn the decision by means of a judicial review and how to sign a petition to prevent similar applications from succeeding. This decision, if upheld, means that the applications to opencast in other areas of England are more likely to succeed.

THE LOOSE ANTI OPEN-CAST NETWORK

LAON PR2012 -8 17/9/12

BBC’s COUNRTYFILE PROGRAMME INVESTIGATES WHY A REMOTE HAMLET IS ON THE FRONT LINE OF A PLANNING BATTLE OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE.

A small village, of just 75 households, is all that may stand between preserving large sections of the English countryside and the expressed desire of the UK Mineral Extraction Industry to see more permissions given to exploiting England’s mineral resources in areas that are more environmentally sensitive and / or are closer to where people live.

The unfortunate village is Halton Lea Gate, located on the Cumbria / Northumberland border and near an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A team from the BBC’s Counrtyfile programme was filming there recently to investigate why this spot now finds itself on the front line of a national planning controversy.
In early August, after a Public Inquiry into an Appeal to grant permission for an Opencast Mine, the Inspector found in favour of the Applicant. The sting in the tale, for all other communities in England, is the reasoning given by the Inspector to allow the Appeal. His reasoning set a new case law precedent, it is argued, which affects all future mineral planning applications in England.

What the Applicant has to replicate in the future, is the argument used here: that there is a national need for the mineral in question, in this case coal. If they can persuade the Planning Authority (or the Inspector, if the Application has gone to an Appeal) that this is the case, then ‘great weight’ has to be attached to this claim. So much weight it seems, that this factor alone may override all other considerations. (1)

This situation has arisen as a consequence of the Government implementing the new National Planning Policy Framework. In the time leading up to the 2010 election, lobbying organisations such as Coalpro and the CBI lobbied long and hard for a relaxation of the planning rules for mineral extraction. (2) It seems, from this example, the first Public Inquiry for mineral extraction to be held under the new rules, that their efforts have been rewarded. The advice of the Inspector has now gone to the Department of Communities and Local Government to be confirmed or rejected by a Minister.

The BBC came to investigate the issue and explore why local people have taken on the task of raising £40,000 so that they can mount a Judicial Review over the decision. If local people are successful in raising the money and mounting a successful action, they may have prevented the floodgates from opening and saved England from experiencing a rash of mineral planning applications for developing swathes of the countryside. This is now a Public Appeal, and donations can be made payable to The North Pennines Protection Group, who have been one of the local groups who have opposed this Application

An e petition to the Government has been started about this planning decision and its implication for similar planning decisions elsewhere which can be signed by following this link:

 http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/36985

Steve Leary for the Loose Anti Opencast Network commented
“ LAON was contacted by the BBC in the lead up to filming for the Countryside programme. We are delighted to be able to cooperate in the making of the programme and show why we argue that this is an issue of national importance which will affect other communities up and down the Country if the decision is not changed.

We know of five other opencast mine applications, near Smally in Derbyshire (George Farm) , Kirklees, Sth. Yorkshire (Dearne Lea), Trowel in Nottinghamshire (Shortwood Farm) , Whittonstall in Northumberland ( Hoodsclose) and Gateshead (Birklands) that will be affected by this decision if it stands.

In addition, we are aware of three other sites where a potential applicant is making the final decision to proceed with a full application in Gateshead, Marley Hill Reclamation) , Derbyshire ( Hill Top Project near Clay Cross) and Northumberland (Ferneybeds near Widdrington Station, Northumberland) which might also be affected.
The issue here though, we believe, goes way beyond opencast mining. It’s about relaxing the rules around all forms of mineral extraction from pits for sand, gravel and clay to quarries for granite and limestone to opencast mines for coal. This is what the industry lobbied for and now, it seems, the Government has delivered, if it upholds the Inspector’s recommendation to approve the Application and the Judicial Review fails. We therefore urge people everywhere, who cherish and love our countryside, to support both the petition and the public appeal for money to take this case to a Judicial Review.”
The Counrtyfile edition of the programme is to be broadcast on Sunday 30th September 2012. It will include a 12 minute section on the Halton Lea Gate issue.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References

1) For more information on the significance of this decision as far as opencast mine applications are concerned see LAON PR7 here

 http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/2754

2) Evidence about the lobbying to relax these planning rules can be found here.
Briefing Note E2 “Energy Policy and the Proposed National Planning Policy Framework,” MOPG 2011 @

 http://www.leicestershirevillages.com/measham/mopg-briefing-notes-series.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT LAON
The Loose Anti-Opencast Network (LAON) has been in existence since 2009. It functions as a medium through to oppose open cast mine applications through which any person / group can communicate ideas, information, requests for information and possibly concerted actions if we find a target. In addition feel free to invite any other person / group who oppose opencast mining applications, to join the network so that it grows. At present LAON links individuals and groups in N Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Northumberland, Co Durham, Leeds, Kirklees Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Walsall.

You can now follow LAON on Twitter @  https://twitter.com/Seftonchase

Steve Leary
- e-mail: infoatlaon@yahoo.com

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Sheffield Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

Sheffield [navigation.actions2016]

Sheffield [navigation.actions2015]

Sheffield [navigation.actions2014]

NATO 2014

Sheffield Actions 2013

G8 2013

Sheffield Actions 2012

Workfare

Sheffield Actions 2011

2011 Census Resistance
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Occupy Everywhere

Sheffield Actions 2010

Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands

Sheffield Actions 2009

COP15 Climate Summit 2009
G20 London Summit
Guantánamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
University Occupations for Gaza

Sheffield Actions 2008

2008 Days Of Action For Autonomous Spaces
Campaign against Carmel-Agrexco
Climate Camp 2008
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Smash EDO
Stop Sequani Animal Testing
Stop the BNP's Red White and Blue festival

Sheffield Actions 2007

Climate Camp 2007
DSEi 2007
G8 Germany 2007
Mayday 2007
No Border Camp 2007

Sheffield Actions 2006

April 2006 No Borders Days of Action
Art and Activism Caravan 2006
Climate Camp 2006
Faslane
French CPE uprising 2006
G8 Russia 2006
Lebanon War 2006
March 18 Anti War Protest
Mayday 2006
Oaxaca Uprising
Refugee Week 2006
Rossport Solidarity
SOCPA
Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls
WSF 2006

Sheffield Actions 2005

DSEi 2005
G8 2005
WTO Hong Kong 2005

Sheffield Actions 2004

European Social Forum
FBI Server Seizure
May Day 2004
Venezuela

Sheffield Actions 2003

Bush 2003
DSEi 2003
Evian G8
May Day 2003
No War F15
Saloniki Prisoner Support
Thessaloniki EU
WSIS 2003

Server Appeal Radio Page Video Page Indymedia Cinema Offline Newsheet

secure Encrypted Page

You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.

If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech