“Not appropriate! Not lawful! Not acceptable! Not correct! Not properly consulted!”
These are just some of the claims made by four Horwich community groups in a letter identifying 20 specific official complaints submitted to Bolton Council. (see link below)
The concern is that the Council has not dealt properly with planning applications and enforcement at Pilkington Quarry, in the West Pennine Moors at Horwich.
The latest planning application could see quarrying resume and continue until 2042 without residents and elected members being properly consulted and informed. This is outrageous in beautiful moorland countryside that is used by so many for recreation and it is well known that quarrying and restoration activities affect people over a wide area.
The complaints cover a number of topics but generally that officers of the Council have not followed due process in that they:-
- have misled the general public and elected members
- have failed to keep residents and elected members informed
- have not validated applications
- have not enforced conditions
- have not taken specialist legal advice
- have not responded acceptably to letters from residents’.
The administration has lost entire files and important documents, concerning one of the largest developments in Bolton.
Quarrying at the site stopped more than four years ago as the quarry was exhausted and therefore there is nothing to extract.
We believe there is no legal justification for the quarry to be granted additional life until 2042, but the council has refused to comment on this.
With this proposal and the fact that the AGMA are discussing the use of Montcliffe Quarry as a waste site and the removal of the land that currently separates Montcliffe and Pilkington quarry, is it any wonder that residents are concerned about the future of the West Pennine Moors and there is OUTRAGE ?
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Plans to turn Rivington into a Waste Facility for Greater Manchester
