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The real news direct from the Nine Ladies Collective.
18/6/05
Today we finally received the high court verdict regarding the classification of the
quarries at Lees Cross and Endcliffe. The quarries are now (or still) officially dormant. This means that
the quarries cannot re open until the Peak Park have agreed a set of working conditions for them.
Stancliffe Stone still have the permission to quarry from 1952, and the Peak Park still have the power to
revoke the permission, or to impose such restrictions that the re opening of the quarries would be
financially unviable. Our protest site must and will continue to exist in order to protect our beautiful
hillside (in the second most visited national park on the planet), as it is still quite possible that
this awesome natural heritage of ours could be destroyed. Please dont let the media convince you that
this is a victory on our behalf. Please send your comments on the proposals to re-open Lees Cross and
Endcliffe quarries to The Peak District National Park Planning Authority and Lord Edward Manners of
'Haddon Hall' (who owns the land) or come and visit our protest community. Thank you (and a happy
nearly-solstice) from the 9-ladies collective! x x x
Thanks to Indymedia uk: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/06/314292.html
Top of Page
In brief
There is a protest site at Stanton Moor, very near to the stone circle called the Nine
Ladies or Stanton Moor II, in the Peak National Park. Two old quarries, Endcliffe and Lees Cross, are
occupied by protestors. The quarrying company wants to re-open the quarries and start blasting again for
millstone grit.
latest news
Stancliffe Stone LOSE - Stanton Moor quarries ARE dormant
The quarrying company, Stancliffe Stone, have lost their attempt to have the quarries
designated as already in use. This means they would have to go through a lengthy procedure to reopen the
quarries. The Peak National Park Authority were against the quarries being reopened on the old permit, as
the conditions of the 1952 permit are inappropriate and contrary to Peak Park policy.
Article URL: http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146411687
Please have a look at more details on the Save Nine Ladies website at
http://www.nineladies.uklinux.net/
or speak to the activists onsite directly by phoning the site phone:
0700 594 2212
The protestors are under threat of eviction; the quarry company need a writ to be able
to evict them legally. The Park Authority are questioning the accuracy of some of the engineering plans
for reopening the quarries, among other concerns. Kate from the site says "It's easy, come and have
a go at stopping them." The protestors would love more people to come down so some of them can takes
turns to get off site for rest and recreation!
Background on the quarries
Millstone grit is relatively rare, and has been widely used in construction in the Peak
Park area for centuries. The Park Authority want local buildings to be maintained with the traditional
thin cut gritstone roofing, which is difficult to get hold of. A few years ago they permitted a small
quarry to be opened within the park for maintaining local buildings, which may provide an example of a
sustainable scale for quarrying within the park.
The Stone Circle
The Nine Ladies is a strange place. It's an Early Bronze Age circle about 15m across,
adjacent to other sacred sites on Stanton Moor. It consists of ten stones, one of which is horizontal and
was below ground until droughts and erosion revealed it in the 1970s. The circle is very popular with
visitors to Stanton Moor, but at least some of the local pagans regard it as uncanny and
"difficult" and don't work there.
Photos of the site can be found at
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=125
Recently the ground around the stone has been reinforced with mesh and non-local grass
species. It doesn't look great, but it is the solution of the Park Authority to reduce erosion around the
site as much as possible.
Archaeology of the circle site
In 2000 an archaeological dig explored the ground around the stones. This was to
explore the foundations of the stone primarily to find out what depth of soil was holding the stones
upright. The site is very frequently visited and is suffering erosion. The archaeologists investigated
the depth of the foundation of the stones partly to find out whether there was any danger of one of them
falling over and injuring a visitor.
They discovered there were no flint microliths in the area of the stones at all. This
is significantly different from the background level of flint finds in surrounding areas on the moor.
This is a common result in the investigation of ancient British sacred monuments; it is thought there
might have been a custom of not bringing any tools or weapons into the circle.
They also discovered that the so-called King Stone may have been a later addition; the
hole into which it was set is slightly different, and the stone is clearly dressed (squared off) below
ground. There are conservation issues due to the high number of visitors to the site, which can be 20/30
a day on a weekday during November, many more at weekends and in the summer.
More details on the archaeology can be found in John Barnatt's books, including
'Henges, stone circles and ringcairns of the Peaks' (JR Collis Publications 1990).
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NINE LADIES, EVICTION ANY TIME - HELP
NEEDED
From Rowan at the Dragon
Network:
Nine Ladies Under Threat: On 12 December 2003, the quarry company Stancliffe Stone submitted a scheme to
the Peak District National Park Authority, PDNPA, for working the quarries at Endcliffe and Lees Cross.
They want to extract 3.2 million tons of rock from a 12.95 hectare site within 100m of the Nine Ladies
Stone Circle. The resultant scar will be 100m deep, devastating the environment of this treasured site
with its beautiful woods for ever. The quarry company issued a statement in the local paper saying that
they are going to begin the eviction process. There was a court hearing on Thursday (22 Jan) for a
possession order. The order was granted and the Sheriff and climbers are only waiting for the warrant
before beginning eviction. PEOPLE ARE URGENTLY NEEDED to help sort out defences, and to be there at the
eviction. If you want to be on the phone tree (to be informed when eviction starts), please get in touch
via the site mobile number: 0700 5942212
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP.
People who cannot help on site are encouraged to write to the PDNPA and tell them why
you are opposed to this development.
(Note: public consultation is for the duration of January only):
The Peak District National Park Authority,
Aldern House,
Baslow Road,
BAKEWELL,
Derbyshire DE45 1AE
Tel: 01629 816200
Fax: 01629 816310
email: aldern [at] peakdistrict-npa [dot] gov [dot] uk
Campaign website: http://www.nineladies.uklinux.net/
More information at:
http://www.stonehenge.ukf.net/nineladies.htm
http://www.britainexpress.com/articles/Ancient_Britain/nine-ladies.htm
http://www.indycymru.org.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=
article&sid=464
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Report by Sacred Sites News 13/2/2004
http://www.sacredsites.org.uk/news/SMfeb04.html
Whose quarry? Whose landscape?
A Peak District dilemma peaks
Issued by the Sacred Sites project, 13 February 2004
A storm is brewing on Stanton Moor - an area of natural beauty famed for its wildlife
and its archaeology, in the Derbyshire Peak District, where quarrying proposals and spiritual and
ecological concerns meet head-on. A protest camp, an application to reopen quarries, and aristocratic
landowners all seem part of the plot. 'It's yet another example of conflicting interests and values in
today's Britain - where land use permissions and rights to mineral exploitation meet intangible ideas of
heritage and spirituality, how do you judge the issue?' says Dr Jenny Blain of Sheffield Hallam
University.
Dr Blain and Dr Robert Wallis of Richmond University in London direct the Sacred Sites,
Contested Rites/Rights project, based at Sheffield Hallam. Their project recently had Economic and Social
Research Council funding (grant number RES-000-22-0074) to look at how alternative and pagan ideas of
landscape may conflict with Heritage management concepts, with implications for management practices. But
in this case, conservation organisations and pagan/alternative groups are in some agreement: they don't
want the quarry. 'Landscape' and its uses are at the heart of the situation.
A new application by Stancliffe Stone Ltd (a subsidiary of Marshalls PLC) is
forcing matters to come to a head, with the Peak District National Park Authority pressed for a
swift decision. The history has spanned at least 5 recent years (though human use of the Peaks has
spanned thousands). In 1999, Stancliffe Stone submitted an initial application to reopen dormant
Endcliffe and Lees Cross quarries on the moor, near the scheduled ancient monument of the Nine
Ladies stone circle. Conservation agencies, spiritual site users and local activists have campaigned
- diversely - against the threat of renewed quarrying on the land for the past four years, with a
protest camp illegally occupying part of the area: the application is based on a 1952 permission
which pre-dates the PDNPA, and in 1952 the importance of 'landscape' for heritage and local culture
was not evident. Today things have changed and 'landscape' is in vogue within heritage and
archaeology - and in popular TV programmes. The landscape of the Peak District is famed, with the
Peak District National Park hailed as the World's second most popular park (after one in Japan).
With the new application the company is making plain its intention to work the
site in the very near future. The protest camp is preparing for imminent eviction - they are
illegally on the land. A decision on the future of the site is forthcoming. The PDNPA have called
for community and individual comments until mid March, and is consulting English Heritage and
English Nature, among other organisations - in addition to the archaeological remains on the moor,
there are tree-preservation orders in place and the area is home to two protected species of bat.
Blain says: 'The company is basing its application on the old permission, and
attempting to show how they will quarry with reduced disruption to the surrounding areas - and the
people of neighbouring Stanton Lees. Incredibly, there are doubts about whether this should be
considered a 'dormant' or an 'active' quarry! But the protest camp say that they are challenging the
landowner - the Haddon Estates, associated with the Duke of Rutland - to protect the land.'
She points out that her project's interests are in how people connect with the
land around them, and why 'landscape' - especially sacred landscape - is important to them. But as
for landscape - when the Nine Ladies stone circle stands so close to the quarry area, what will
remain of its value for tourism or spiritual heritage when its landscape is quarried away?
Top of Page
News fowarded by Adrian of
Dragon Environmental Network
3/3/04
Dear friend
This is the latest news from the Nine Ladies Anti-Quarry Campaign.
Marshalls have been granted a possession order and an eviction could be carried
out at any time; but is unlikely before 2 April, which is the date when the PDNPA must announce
working conditions for the quarries. Hopefully these will turn out not to be economically viable for
Marshalls ..... then maybe everyone can pack up and go home at last.
Site Phone Number
There is now a phone on site, the number is 0700 5942212. If you are outside the
UK, dial 00, wait for a second dial tone, then dial 44 700 5942212 (no initial 0). Thanks to Ren for
that.
From Phil:
Peak Park are again inviting comments on the proposals, which should be received
by mid-March. You can read more at
http://www.peakdistrict.org/news/copy/2004/03Feb04.htm
They particularly need to be able to show that the quarries are dormant, in order
to be able to make the new working conditions as restrictive as possible.
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