from Sunday Herald, 09 October 2011
Environmentalists have demanded an inquiry into a conflict of interest that they say has compromised a bitterly disputed plan for a massive new quarry on the banks of the Clyde in South Lanarkshire.
Patersons, the company behind an application for a three-million-tonne sand and gravel quarry near Biggar, helps run an environmental consultancy which has given a green light to the plan.
Two of Patersons’ directors, William Paterson and James Richardson, are also listed as directors of Envirocentre, a Glasgow-based firm that provided an “independent check” on the safe management of flood risks from the quarry.
The Clyde River Action Group (CRAG), which is campaigning against the quarry, has questioned the impartiality of the consultant’s advice. “This report is meant to be independent by law, yet it's about as independent as Palestine,” said CRAG spokesman, Arthur Bell.
“If an audit were to be carried out on a company by auditors who included the company's own directors, without any declaration of conflict of interest, then Companies House would prosecute.”
Stan Blackley, the chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, was “flabbergasted” that such a damaging development was being dumped on a local community. “If there is any suggestion of a conflict of interests, then the quarry application must be rejected and an inquiry launched,” he said.
An earlier planning application by Patersons was rejected by South Lanarkshire Council last year, after the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) had objected. But the Glasgow-based quarrying and waste company has reapplied for permission for a slightly smaller quarry.
It now wants to extract 3.3 million tonnes of sand and gravel over the next ten years from 37 hectares of land at Overburns Farm, under Tinto Hill near Lamington. Afterwards, the company promises to restore the land.
This time Sepa has not objected, though it has said that a series of conditions on flood risks must be attached to planning permission. This has infuriated local residents, who claim that Sepa has been influenced by Envirocentre’s assessment.
Caroline Parker, a local farmer and chair of CRAG, accused Sepa of ignoring the group’s own expert evidence. “The government agency has been gullible enough to take something spoon-fed them by the applicants and their agents,” she said.
“We need to safeguard our environmental legacy, our wonderful wildlife and outstanding scenery, not forgetting our existing economy. South Lanarkshire must protect its present and future citizens from this environmental piracy.”
CRAG is alarmed by the environmental track record of Patersons, which also runs a major landfill site at Greenoakhill near Glasgow. The Sunday Herald has previously revealed that the site has failed Sepa’s pollution performance assessments for the last four years running.
Residents have also won the backing of MSPs. “I am asking South Lanarkshire Council whether this apparent conflict of interest invalidates the information provided and indeed the application itself,” said the Labour MSP for the South of Scotland, Claudia Beamish.
Sepa, however, said that it did not depend on Envirocentre’s check of flood risks, but carried out its own independent assessment. “We do not comment upon any relationships between applicants or any other parties as this is outwith our remit,” said Kenny Boag, Sepa’s head of operations in south west Scotland.
Patersons did not respond to requests for comments on Friday.
Read an earlier story about the quarry plan here.
I wouldn't belive a word SEPA say,i have it in print that they gave the green light to dump 8 trucks per day of untreated sewage from the Edinburgh City Council into the landfill site at OXWELLMAINS near Dunbar.
People were horrified to learn that there was no special licence required.
This happened in the year 1999 and went on for 2 years,our village of INNERWICK suffered from the disgusting stench coming from the site we never rally knew until years later.
During that time we had fly infestations, rats in our back garden.
How would anyone like this on their doorstep.
I reported these incidents to SEPA and our environment dept in HADDINGTON,I HAVE THIS ALL WRITTEN DOWN TIMES AND DATES.
Posted by: Alexander Lough, | 18 October 2011 at 01:28 PM
SEPA are the (South East Pollution Agency)They have lied for so long, they cant stop now. they are more interested in protecting the large company's from prosecution. what's in it fore them to allow a breach of an environmental law, and commit crime? we have it in Dunbar to.
Posted by: David Swan | 11 October 2011 at 11:55 PM