A MAJOR new coalition of environmental groups has called on government ministers to step in and save the Peak District National Park from uncontrolled quarrying.
The group includes the Save Longstone Edge Group as well as the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Friends of the Earth, Friends of the Peak District, the Council for National Parks, Plantlife, the British Mountaineering Council and the Ramblers' Ass
ociation.
It wants the Government to provide cash to allow the Peak District National Park Authority to revoke planning permission for mining at Backdale Quarry, near Bakewell, and pay compensation to the owner if necessary.
The coalition has been formed in the wake of a High Court judgment which allows opencast mining of fluorspar at Backdale to resume.
Campaigners say the quarrying is tearing a huge hole in the face of a Peak District beauty spot - and that unless it is stopped soon the National Park will be scarred forever.
The High Court overturned a public inquiry decision last year in which a Government planning inspector had ruled excessive limestone quarrying at Backdale on Longstone Edge was illegal and had to stop. The judgment means large scale limestone extraction can begin once more.
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