Links to the documents will be posted on this site. Links to several initial key documents are given below.

 We mainain that 61530/02  is not a ROMP permission, and therefore the Earthline case is not relevant. The end date is a valid condition.

 In any event extraction in the quarry is complete and no evidence has been provided otherwise to support extending the ROMP permission end date.

61530/02 Documents

Applicants supporting statement
 
http://www.bheag.co.uk/http://www.bheag.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/61530-02-supporting-statement.pdf
 
Officers report (decision deferred)
 
http://www.bheag.co.uk/http://www.bheag.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/61530-02-officers-report1.pdf
 
Officers report (final)
 
http://www.bheag.co.uk/http://www.bheag.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/61530-02-officers-report2.pdf

In the Greenbelt there is a presumption against development. Whilst the initial focus of the group is the development of a new house, in the West Pennine Moors Greenbelt, the omission of the West Pennine Moors in the proposed Bolton Core Strategy has not gone unnoticed. In particular the proposal to remove Rivington and Winter Hill as a key place for toursim and turn the location into probably the largest waste processing and land fill site in Greater Manchester.

Blackrod and Horwich Environmental Action Group have been asking Bolton Council seven very simple questions for nearly six months. Depite being escalated to Sean Harriss the Chief Executive since the beginning of the year, Bolton Council have refused to answer these questions.

One such question was that in October 2009, Bolton Council stated that there was an agreed restoration plan for Pilkington Quarry. The Environment Agency stated they were not aware of this plan ( despite the fact they should have been consulted). The council have now ammended their position stating “I am sure there is one” but have so far failed to provide any evidence.

In fact the only document we can find, would allow the importation of approximately six million tonnes of Greater Manchester Waste to be imported in to Horwich Moor. The document says it is approved and yet the Environment Agency objected to it in the strongest manner. We have asked for this “error” to be corrected but as yet the council have failed to do so.

During the 2008/9 Pilkington Quarry planning application it was necessary for the group to send a legal letter to the Council, to ensure they upheld their legal obligations. A significant amount of new evidence has been identified since this letter was written. Once again the council are showing total disregard for their own rule book and democracy, by refusing to answer our questions. The motif is unclear.

Rise Against Greenbelt Exploitation

The two sites are Montcliffe Quarry and Pilkington Quarry. Both have agreed restoration plans – Montcliffe to become a place for leisure by 2012.    Pilkington quarry should  have been restored by 2008, in accordance with the 1950 and 1968,1997 and 2002 planning permissions, as stone extraction was completed several years ago.

You would think that Rivington was safe ?

Pilkington Quarry has been subject to spotlight over the last twelve months. As green waste has been allowed to be imported into the quarry (even though the planning permission allows only inert waste). This has been allowed to happen even though planning permission has expired. In 2009 this waste was found to have contaminated the surface water. There is additional contaminated land within the quarry. A new planning permission is currently seeking to extend the life of the quarry until 2042 (see 83299/09)

Montcliffe quarry is also subject to discussions by Bolton Council for use in waste disposal.

Both sites are in the Green Belt. Both sites have agreed restoration timescales. Bolton’s current UDP currently identifies the West Pennine Moors (including Rivington) as particularly important to tourism. This is about to change.

Bolton’s new Core Strategy, currently in the consultation phase until 06 March 2010, specifically excludes the West Pennine Moors as being important to tourism, removing some of the safeguard against inappropriate development in one of the most beautiful areas in our locality.

Please make your thoughts known to your local ward councillors, Bolton Council and the press.

Please make sure that anyone who loves this area, vists or lives in this area because of the landscape and the greenbelt knows about the situation.

Please see these links :-

http://www.gmwastedpd.co.uk/ 

The links to the GMEU and GMGU comments are given below. As you will see it would appear that they have been mislead into believing this is about a ROMP permission, with the safeguards this presents. The permission to which this application refers is not a ROMP permission

The order to change schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, will be made early in 2010 and will come into force on 06 April 2010.

Wildlife Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said:

“It is essential that our native species are given the protection they need to flourish.  2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity and it’s more important than ever to do all that we can to halt the loss of biodiversity.  Stopping the spread of invasive non-native species makes a real difference to the survival of our own native plants, birds and animals.”

Himalayan Balsam has been added to the schedule 9

Section 14  prohibits planting in the wild of plants listed in Part II of schedule 9, or otherwise causing to them grow there. These provisions are necessary to prevent the establishment of non-native species which may be detrimental to our native wildlife.

Link to the full story and further background. http://www.webnewswire.com/node/492309

Further information on control can be found using the links at the right hand side of this page

6 counts of maladministration

2 counts of injustice

This unfortunately does not reverse the planning decision and the injustice that this causes, including effectively closing the bridleway on Sundays.

A new application regarding the Lever Park site is expected shortly, so please watch out on the approach to Christmas and make your opinion count.

We are still questioning why the quarry has been allowed to operate without active planning permission.

We also question why you would need to extend the operational life of a quarry which finished extracting stone over three years ago.

It would be beneficial if you would make your views about this application known to the council – a link can be found on the right hand side of this page.

Comments lodged as a result of previous applications do not count, so make your views about this application known.

Remember it is one comment per person not per household

When commenting on the application you may also wish to ask about the following points :-

Application 61530/02to which this application references; we are told  the file has been lost / cannot be located – we have been requesting them since 03/12/09. Please can  you  help locate it   ? 

Application 83299/09  no evidence has been provided to support the application regarding an administrative error

 Application 61530/02  to which this application references; decision notice -  why does the applicant have a different version of the decision notice to that posted   on the Bolton Planning web pages (This was resolved 15/12/09)

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4SNYK_enGB307GB307&q=pilkington%20quarry%2C%20horwich&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

The report advised that the current lessee had served notice of their intention to cease extraction from the quarry and, as a result, the Council had been approached by Armstrongs Environmental Services Limited for the lease to be issued to them.

The report outlined a number of options available to the Council and a view was sought on the desired way to proceed -
Instruction received to discuss with Armstrong’s a strategic relocation of recycling operations from Horwich Loco to Montcliffe Quarry.

A letter has been sent to the Executive committe of Bolton Council, expressing our concerns

Please see the new application  update, 83299/09  (click “home”)

http://www.planning.bolton.gov.uk/DCOnlineV2/AcolNetCGI.dcgov?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=76767

We are currently considering our position

We welcome the formation of 

                          The Friends of Lever Park,

                          The  Arcon Village Residents Association,

                          The  Horwich Moor Residents Association,

                          The Montcliffe Residents Association.

     Together we can make a positive difference

I am reminded of a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

“First they came for the communists,

          and I did not speak out

         —because I was not a communist;

Then they came for the trade unionists,

          and I did not speak out

         —because I was not a trade unionist;

Then they came for the Jews,

          and I did not speak out

          —because I was not a Jew;

Then they came for me

      —and there was no one left to speak out for me

If you need support to speak out, contact us with total confidentiality at BHEAG@Hotmail.co.uk