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Asham Woods SSSI saved!!
17 March 1995
The Amey Roadstone Corporation (ARC), part of the Hanson conglomerate, has surrendered a quarrying permission dating from the 1940s that would have led to the partial destruction of the internationally important Asham Wood Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Asham Wood is the largest and most spectacular of the ancient semi-natural woodlands that lie in the rolling hills of the Mendips in Somerset.
The surrendered quarrying permission, a so called Interim Development Order (IDO), is among nearly one hundred such orders that in 1993 threatened to damage or destroy SSSIs.
Friends of the Earth has campaigned for the protection of Asham Wood nationally and locally. The pressure group has called on ARC to surrender its quarrying permission which Friends of the Earth maintained was not valid due to inadequate documentation.
ARC had offered to surrender the permission in the past but had always linked that to the company being allowed to expand its controversial operations in the nearby Whatley Quarry. This proposal was refused by the Secretary of State for the Environment, John Gummer.
Tony Juniper, Senior Campaigner in Biodiversity and Habitats said:
"We are delighted that ARC has acknowledged the importance of this precious wildlife site and has decided not to threaten its destruction in order to gain permission to dig elsewhere".
"Many other SSSIs around the country are threatened by these ancient IDOs. Now that protecting nature is more of a priority than post war reconstruction these permissions should be fully reviewed and where necessary cancelled".
Richard Dixon Tel: 0373 812972
ENDS
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Sep 2008
