‘Landmark’ decision on peat extraction at Chat Moss
Article published: Friday, July 1st 2011
Salford City Council’s Planning and Transport Regulatory Panel unanimously refused to allow the continued extraction of peat at Chat Moss at its meeting on Thursday 30 June 2011. The case has been hailed as a “landmark decision” which may set a precedent for other similar cases on peat extraction elsewhere in the country. Councillor Derek Antrobus, Salford City Council’s lead member for planning, said: “As far as we know, this is the first time an application for peat extraction has been determined on grounds of principle.”
The Panel refused to grant permission for a number of reasons including, significantly, the effects of carbon dioxide emissions on climate change. The other grounds for refusal relate to a failure by the applicant to provide sufficient information on the potential impact on the adjacent Twelve Yards Road SBI (Site of Biological Importance) and water vole habitat, and a failure to demonstrate that the site can be successfully restored to a lowland bogland habitat following the continued extraction of peat. The proposal was deemed to be contrary to a whole host of national, regional and local policies with respect to climate change, peat extraction and the environment.
The Panel considered three applications from William Sinclair Horticulture Ltd to renew planning permission which expired on 31 December 2010. If approved, the permission would have allowed continued extraction of peat at the site until 2025, and could have paved the way for the further granting of permission to extract peat elsewhere in the UK.
National Significance
Dave Crawshaw from the Lancashire Wildlife Trust said: “Today is a landmark decision” that “represents a welcome and significant milestone in the long struggle to stop peat extraction on Chat Moss.” It is a campaign which has seen different kinds of protests including marches, petitions and direct action, while Sinclair’s application has received hundreds of objections from local people.
The decision also has national significance because, as Crawshaw pointed out: “Salford is regarded as a national test case” which will have “repercussions for other parts of the country.”
Local MP Barbara Keeley also said, “Chat Moss is a vital green lung for local people and for the City of Salford, which serves a number of purposes for local people and it should have positive future uses. I hope similar decisions will follow in other areas where peat extraction is damaging the land and the environment.”
The timing was also important, coming so close to Government’s White Paper on the Natural Environment – released on 7 June 2011. The paper recognises “the extraction of peat for horticulture is unsustainable, also contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and the destruction of rare habitats and archaeology” and has therefore set a target to reduce peat use to zero by 2030. To achieve this, it includes milestones of a “progressive phase-out target of 2015 for Government and the public sector”, then “voluntary phase-out targets” of 2020 for amateur gardeners and 2030 for professional growers of fruit, vegetables and plants.
Crawshaw though believes the White Paper does not go far enough: “The government has not adopted the peat levy in the White Paper…nor has it listened to the joint pleas of the industry and NGOs for a non voluntary approach to peat reduction.”
Only one per cent of UK mosslands remain, and around half of these are threatened by peat extraction. Mosslands are often referred to as ‘our rainforests’ as they store huge amounts of carbon, and are also home to a wide variety of plants and wildlife.
Crawshaw believes that “there is no longer any need for peat extraction” as peat-free alternatives exist which have been shown in independent tests “to perform better than peat itself”. Ironically, Sinclair is the manufacturer of one of the leading brands of peat-free compost.
Complications possible
Although this decision is an important victory for those opposed to peat extraction, this is unlikely to be the end of the story at Chat Moss. Sinclair could appeal against the decision, leading to an inquiry later in the year. Councillor Antrobus said: “If there is an appeal, it will be an important test case for the government on the strength of its environmental policies and its commitment to localism.”
One issue that is still unresolved is the restoration of the site. There was a clause in the planning permission which expired last year, to restore the site to ‘amenity use’. Sinclair have argued that this could mean many things, and doesn’t necessarily mean a full restoration is required to lowland raised bog. However, Salford City Council have hinted to Sinclair that their interpretation is that a full and proper restoration is essential, and local people and campaigners intend to keep the pressure up to make sure this happens.
Although Chat Moss, located on Cutnook Lane in Irlam, is worked as one site, it actually has five planning permissions; as well as the three in Salford; there are a further two that fall within the jurisdiction of Wigan Council. Attention will now turn to Wigan, as they also need to make a decision, but Crawshaw is confident they will follow suite as it would be “extraordinary if Wigan choose to go in the other direction to Salford” and grant permission for Sinclair’s to continue peat extraction.
“Meanwhile,” Crawshaw said, “Wigan Borough Council have finally asked for comments on [Sinclair’s] revised Environmental Statement… We have until 15 July to respond. I urge those of you who have not already responded to do so and also to ask Wigan to take enforcement action on their side of the boundary.”
Example letters and other information on how you can help are available on the Trust’s website.
Mark Haworth
More: Environment, News
Comments
-
Hurray! Well done Salford Council!
Comment by Tracy on July 20, 2011 at 10:08 pm -
[…] after permission was first granted to extract peat from Chat Moss, both Salford and Wigan Council refused on environmental grounds to renew William Sinclair Horticulture Ltd’s licence to continue extraction. Sinclair has […]
Pingback by Last chance to have your say on Chat Moss — MULE on October 21, 2011 at 4:19 pm -
permission was first granted to extract peat from Chat Moss, both Salford and Wigan Council refused on environmental grounds to renew William Sinclair Horticulture Ltd’s licence to continue extraction.
Comment by find cell on January 28, 2012 at 11:40 am
The comments are closed.
