Plans to secure supplies of Portland limestone and Stanton Moor sandstone have jumped the final hurdles to get the go-ahead from planners.

Michael Poultney, Managing Director of Albion Stone Quarries, who extract Portland stone in Dorset, complained earlier this year that planners were killing the British stone industry after objections were raised to his proposal to change from quarrying to mining at Jordan\'s Quarry (see NSS May and June issues). He said the planning application to change his method of operation to one he had believed everyone would find more environmentally friendly had taken two years and cost nearly £70,000. He said there came a time when the butterfly counting should stop.

Michael says: "Although we were always aware that the planners were supportive of our application, this has been a difficult process and lessons need to be learnt."

Michael is also the Deputy Chairman of the Stone Federation Quarry Group and Albion are now working with the Stone Federation in an attempt to avoid repeats of this scenario.

The Federation is contacting all the Mineral Planning Authorities to make them aware of the new recommendations for determining planning applications for dimension stone quarries and mines in Annex Three of MPS1 (the government guidelines to planning authorities), which differ significantly from the requirements for aggregate sites.

Over in the Peak District, proposals by Stancliffe for a land-swap in order to extend Dale View Quarry, which went to Hazel Blears, the Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government, after eight years of discussions between Stancliffe, residents, and the Peak District National Park Authority, are not going to be called in by the Secretary of State.

In a letter she concludes that "the proposals do not raise planning issues of more than local importance and that intervention would not be justified as there is not sufficient potential conflict with national planning policiesÖ or any other sufficient reason to warrant calling in the application".

Stancliffe Director Mike Jones told NSS: "All we need to do now is agree conditions for working the extension with the Peak Park and agree the Section 106 which will revoke our rights to quarry at Endcliffe and Lees Cross. We regard this news as the last major hurdle cleared."

So when might it all finally be resolved?

In the end, residents of Stanton-in-Peak were keen for the issue to be resolved in order to be rid of so-called Ecowarriors who had occupied Endcliffe and Lees Cross Quarry for the past eight years. Stancliffe\'s original proposal was to re-open Endcliffe and Lees Cross but objections were raised because of its proximity to bronze age standing stones known as Nine Ladies.

At the end of 2004 Stancliffe proposed giving up any rights to Endcliffe and Lees Cross in exchange for permission to extend Dale View. That is now the plan that is going ahead. The ecowarriors say they will leave when the Section 106 agreement is signed by Stancliffe.