- Lingerbay
Lingerbay in
Harris ,Scotland , was the subject of one of theWestern Isles 's longest controversies.The original '
superquarry 'planning application , submitted in 1991, was to extract 600 million tonnes ofanorthosite rock over a period of 60 years, from an isolated area of South Harris in the Western Isles.The proposal prompted numerous objections and led to the formation of a body called the
Link Quarry Group (LQG). The Quarry Group was concerned about the quarry's location in a designatedNational Scenic Area , questions over thesustainability of extracting vast quantities of rock for use inmotorway construction, the potential formarine pollution from the increasedshipping traffic and impacts on thebiodiversity of the area including a pair ofgolden eagles .Due to the concerns raised the
Scottish Executive held aPublic Local Inquiry inStornoway , which ran over 9 months from October 1994 until June 1995. It was then a further four years before the recommendations from the inquiry were completed and submitted to the Scottish Executive. Finally, in November 2000Sam Galbraith asMinister for Environment, Sport and Culture (including responsibility for Planning) turned down the application.In 2001, a second inquiry was held into the legal validity of a consent apparently granted in 1965.
Scottish Ministers decide that a consent was granted for a smallquarry rather than the large area claimed by the applicants. The applicants lodge and appeal with theCourt of Session , agreeing that no redetermination of the 1991 application should take place until this appeal is decided. In January 2004 the decision by Scottish Ministers, that the 1965 consent relates to a small area of quarrying activity is upheld.In April 2004
Lafarge decided to withdraw their 1991 application and announced their intention to drop their proposals for the site.
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