Court Unanimously Rejects 'Back Door' Quarry Attempt

Court Unanimously Rejects 'Back Door' Quarry Attempt

Call for company to drop plans for Britain's biggest quarry

9 January 2004

Scottish Environment LINK Press Release (FoE Scotland)

http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/press/pr20040102.html

Plans to develop what would be Britain's biggest ever quarry were set back today (Friday 9 January) following a unanimous decision by judges at the Edinburgh Court of Session to reject a "back door" appeal by French aggregates giant Lafarge. The company failed to overturn a previous Executive decision blocking the establishment of a massive 600 hectare superquarry within a National Scenic Area on Harris.

The superquarry controversy may not end here. Following an earlier appeal by Lafarge, a redetermination on a separate planning application dating from 1991 has yet to be issued.

The Link Quarry Group, a coalition of environment groups opposed to the quarry, welcomed today's decision and demanded that that Lafarge Aggregates finally drop its quarry plans and withdraw from all attempts to gain approval for its plan. The Group also reiterated its demand that the bosses of Lafarge visit Harris to apologise for the decade of uncertainty that they have created for the community.

On behalf of the Link Quarry Group, Duncan McLaren said:

"When will Lafarge accept that 'non' means 'non'? They have been told repeatedly by the Scottish authorities and people that their 'super-quarry' proposals are unacceptable. Yet they have persisted in pursuing every arcane planning and legal possibility. Now the Scottish law lords have confirmed that only a tiny part of the site has a valid existing permission. It's time for Lafarge to withdraw gracefully before they are rebuffed yet again.

"Lafarge's bosses claim that they support sustainable development. They should accept that the only sustainable decision in this case is to drop the entire proposal, and then apologise to the people of Harris for the uncertainty and disruption they have caused."

Notes to Editors:

[1] The Link Quarry Group represents a number of Scottish environment groups including Friends of the Earth Scotland, Ramblers Scotland, RSPB, WWF Scotland, Rural Scotland, Sustrans, NEMT and Scottish Wildlife Trust.

[2] LAFARGE AGGREGATES LIMITED AND OTHERS v. SCOTTISH MINISTERS AND OTHERS Lord Marnoch and Lord President and Lord Weir 9/1/2004 Full text available from here: http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/XA99.html

Some key conclusions:

Lord President: [51] "The land to which a relevant planning permission relates" means, in my view, the land in respect of which specific minerals development has been authorised. In the circumstances of the present case land which satisfies that description comprises only the three areas identified in the 25 inch map. The remainder of the 600 hectares does not satisfy that description since winning and working of minerals in these areas has never been authorised...

[52] ...one of the appellants' contentions was that the reporters had exceeded their remit in recommending that the three areas should be entered in the list, in respect that they were only concerned with the existence and validity of 1965/79. I am wholly unpersuaded by this contention...

Lord Marnoch: [55] ...I should make it clear that, had it been necessary to do so, I, myself, would have been prepared to go further and hold that a "planning permission in principle" or any other supposed "planning permission" which, like "1965/79", prohibited the commencement of work pending further approval of aspects of the application could not in any circumstances itself constitute a "relevant planning permission"...

[59] In agreement with your Lordship in the chair I am of opinion that there is no substance whatever in Grounds of Appeal 5 and 6 relative to the vires of the Scottish Ministers' decision...

60] ... all the Grounds of Appeal ... come back to the same point, namely the proper construction of the definition of "relevant planning permission" for purposes of Schedule 9 to the 1997 Act. ... I am satisfied that any reasonable construction of that phrase in the end leads to a dismissal of the present appeal.

Lord Weir: [70] I agree with your Lordship in the chair that the "land to which a relevant planning permission relates" means the land in respect of which specific minerals development has been authorised. As it has transpired, the only authorisation which has been made relates to the areas identified in the 25 inch map. The remainder of the large area has not been authorised for development as a mineral site and accordingly cannot be listed. In my opinion the decision reached by the Ministers in accepting the recommendations of the reporters was correct, and I agree with your Lordships that the appeal should be refused.

[3] Background: In November 2003, Lafarge went to the Edinburgh's Court of Session in an attempt to overturn an earlier decision which prevented it from establishing a superquarry. The company was claimed that a permission given back in 1965 by the now defunct Inverness County Council was still valid and would allow a superquarry to proceed.

If successful the Harris superquarry would be Britain's biggest ever quarry. Fifty times larger than conventional UK quarries the proposal by one of the world's largest aggregate companies, Lafarge Aggregates, would cover an area 459 hectares in area. A Scottish mountain would be reduced to a sea loch leaving a scar six times the height of the White Cliffs of Dover.

For more details: http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/nation/superquarry_update.html