Plans to reopen Lake District quarry stall

Clints Crags quarry, which closed 50 years ago, is now home to great nested newts

Environmental campaigners are celebrating after plans to reopen a disused quarry in the Lake District stalled.

Trucking firm D.A. Harrison sought approval to reopen Clints Crags quarry, near Cockermouth, which has been closed for 50 years.

Those opposed said the site had been reclaimed by nature after quarrying ended, and was now home to large numbers of great crested newts.

The national park authority ruled it could not “determine the application” based on planning permission granted in the 1970s. D.A. Harrison declined to comment.

The firm can appeal and Clints Quarry Action Group chairman David Roberts said campaigners had “won the battle as it were, not the war".

Modern permission required

The limestone quarry, near the village of Blindcrake, has been closed for almost half a century.

But, since 2019, the Silloth-based business had been trying to reopen it, Mr Roberts said.

The national park authority ruled on 26 March it could not “determine” the application for several reasons.

These included the fact the reopened quarry would move beyond the old site boundaries and would require modern planning permission.

Mr Roberts said the abandoned quarry had several pools which were home to large numbers of great crested newts.

The population of amphibians had also helped it become a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), he added.