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Ghost ships - local residents win court case
15 December 2003
Friends of the Earth today sent "heart-felt congratulations" to the three residents of Hartlepool who have won a High Court case against Hartlepool Council and Able UK, who had argued that a valid planning consent was in place allowing the dismantling of the so called "Ghost Ships".
This means Able UK must apply for new planning permission in addition to having to apply for a new Waste Management Licence, as a result of Friends of the Earth's High Court success last week. The company will also need to carry out other environmental investigations.
In verbally explaining his judgment, Mr. Justice Sullivan was damning about the handling of this affair by the Environment Agency and Hartlepool Council. He called for an inquiry into the decision-making process that led to the "highly unsatisfactory" situation of four ships now being held in Hartlepool without planning permissions or waste management licences. He also stated that he has not yet seen an environment statement covering the scrapping of these ships.
Mike Childs, Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth, said:
"The residents' victory is a real David versus Goliath moment. Three local residents stood up for what they believed in, despite facing the might of the US Government, attacks from Peter Mandelson MP and at times extremely hostile media coverage. Mr. Justice Sullivan's remarks should make the regulators bow their heads in shame. They tried to force these US ships on the people of Hartlepool with no consultation, no adequate exploration of the environmental risks and without proper legal licences in place."
Friends of the Earth will continue to campaign to make sure that the US Government accepts its environmental obligations and scraps its own ships rather than exporting them overseas. Friends of the Earth will also continue to work to ensure no UK owned ships are dumped in developing countries.
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jun 2008
