 Clyde River Action Group | sitemap | log in
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Lamington bid to block quarry 26 March 2009 Lamington villagers have formed an action group in a bid to block controversial plans for a massive quarry near the banks of the River Clyde.
 Around 100 people attended a two-hour public meeting in Lamington Village Hall on Monday night to express their anger at a proposal to excavate five million tons of sand and gravel over the next decade from a 35 hectare site near Overburns Farm. "The community is up in arms at this proposal," action group spokeswoman Caroline Parker, of Lamington's Broadfield Farm, told the Gazette.  "It is a vast industrialisation, and we don't think it is right that an outsider is coming in to commercially exploit a beautiful environmental area. "The developer and the landowner are the only two who will benefit from this. "We had a show of hands and 100 per cent of the local people present voted against the quarry." Developers Patersons of Greenoakhill Ltd estimate that the quarry would generate an average of 55 lorry loads of sand and gravel every day, with work being carried out at the site from 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday and from 7am to 1pm on Saturdays. But Caroline (44) feels it would be unsafe to have a convoy of lorries going back and forward from the quarry, via a new access road and entrance from the A702. "The road is already a very serious blackspot," she added. "Every three months I see the flashing blue lights of emergency vehicles after there has been an accident. "Having these lorries on the road would only increase the danger. "The lorries would initially be travelling very slow, increasing the chance of a collision with fast moving vehicles coming off the M74." Others who attended the meeting included local MSP Aileen Campbell and members of Symington Community Council and Lamington and District Angling Improvement Association. "The anglers are worried about the adverse environmental effect this quarry would have on the River Clyde," Caroline, who lives with her husband and two children, said. "The River Clyde doesn't belong to anybody; it belongs to Lanarkshire. "I go down to the river and speak to fishermen from Motherwell and Wishaw. They would be badly affected by the environmental impact of this development. "And for us living in Lamington, there could be air pollution from the workings of the quarry." Patersons is expected to lodge official plans for the quarry next month. It has stated that the development would create new jobs and make an important contribution to a shortfall in sand and gravel resources identified by the Scottish Government. If approved by South Lanarkshire Council, the quarry development would be located along the western edge of the extraction area. By Craig Goldthorp
24 March 2009
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