Legal move halts quarrying near the Henges
QUARRYING of land close to an ancient site near Ripon has been halted following a legal challenge in the High Court.
It is the latest twist in a long running saga over proposals by Tarmac Northern Ltd to quarry 1.1 million tonnes of sand and gravel near the Thornborough Henges, described by archaeologists as 'the Stonehenge of the North'.
After a series of objections and a revised application, North Yorkshire County Council granted permission more than a year ago for an extension of quarrying operations covering 76 acres of land at Ladybridge Farm, Nosterfield.
The decision notice allowing quarrying to begin was issued last October, but after a legal challenge in the High Court by the Friends of Thornborough Henges the council has agreed to quash its decision and reconsider it at a meeting in Masham on April 22.
'legal faults'
A spokesman for the Friends said: "A number of legal faults were identified in the way North Yorkshire had made their decision. North Yorkshire agreed that they had got it wrong on three accounts."
The council's Director of Business and Environmental Services, Gordon Gresty, said: "This development has had a contentious history and the legal challenge needs to be seen against the background of the wide range of issues the Planning and Regulatory Functions Committee took into account when it arrived at its decision to grant consent.
"These issues were properly and comprehensively considered by the committee. However, in order to avoid further legal proceedings we have agreed to the quashing of the present planning approval and it would be our intention to take the issue back to the Planning and Regulatory Functions Committee."
A Tarmac spokesman said: "We understand that following legal submissions, the planning consent which we received last October to commence production of sand and gravel at Ladybridge Farm, is no longer in effect.
"We hope that a corrected report will be placed before the county council's Planning and Regulatory Functions Committee at the earliest opportunity. Meanwhile, we have stopped work at the Ladybridge Farm site."
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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