And a new ‘protest variation’ Song of the Clyde is promised as local communities from Symington to Biggar, including Lamington and Coulter, join with environmental and angling interests to oppose a planning application to be submitted by quarry  business, Patersons of Greenoakhill Ltd.

The issue

The company proposes to establish a wet working quarry, extracting sand and gravel from below the water table, at Overburns Farm along a stretch of the upper Clyde, long renowned as one of the best fishings for brown trout in Scotland.

The deep wells they will claw out by long reach excavators, running in 35m cuts at right angles to the river and separated from it only by a bund, will be left as lagoons after they have given their all.  There are very real concerns about overspills from these cuts during heavy rain, polluting not only this stretch of prime angling river but, inevitably, the downstream Clyde.

No user of the river, anglers and other, will find the river as it used to be. No walker from the top of Tinto Hill (pictured below) will see the untroubled river of today but instead will gaze on a mess of quarry workings.

It has taken 40 years to clean the upper Clyde and make it fishable, clear and sparkling. Even in spate this stretch runs clean over its filtering gravel bed. This will be destroyed well within the 12-15 years’ projected life of the proposed quarry.

The consultation

A firm of  consultants, SLR Consulting Ltd from Glasgow, were employed by Patersons to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment in relation to the proposed quarry. In sent a communication to the communities involved, said to have been issued only 36 hours before a single 2 hour long public consultation in Lamington Village Hall.

It is interesting to note that, in all of the environmental matters that SLR’s letter to the local communities briefly raises and dismisses, it makes no mention whatsoever of the calibre of the fish stocks in this stretch of the Clyde. Similarly it makes no reference to the impact of the quarry operations on the long established sport of angling there and on its tourism value to the area.

Concerns

In addition to angling and environmental issues, protesters are highlighting:

• the case of a farmer with a herd of pedigree cattle on the opposite river bank to the location of the proposed quarry, worried about the impact on his herd of a polluted water supply
• the very real road safety concerns related to haulage of material from the quarry to the processing plant and involving lorries from Patersons’ depot at Rigside.

When operations are worked up to the target of extracting 5 million tonnes of gravel and sand per annum for a period of 12-16 years, it is anticipated that it will involve 110 heavy truck movements per day. In the 7.00am-7.00pm operation proposed, this is nine such movements an hour, or one every 6-7 minutes.

This volume of heavy traffic is seen as increasing the already serious risk for villagers in Lamington and Coulter on a notorious section if the A702. This will be extended via the trunk road to residents of Biggar and Dolphinton and other such roadside communities.

The angling world’s view

Angling – river, loch and sea angling – are major pursuits in Argyll and significant contributors to its economy. Anglers from here as well as all over Scotland will be outraged at the possibility of the loss of this fertile section of Scotland’s best known river. Support from anglers and angling associations is arriving regularly with the umbrella group formed to front the protest – the Clyde River Action Group.

Former Captain of Scotland’s Angling Team and present Coach to the Youth Team, Argyll man Alastair MacKellar says: ‘I fished here 40 years ago when we lived in the Carnwath area. My memory is of crystal clear water, clean gravel, grassy banks and excellent fishing.

‘If the plan goes ahead this will be more than a distant fond memory. It will undoubtedly change the river from a clear stream to a cloudy silt-laden waterway.

‘I very much doubt, reading the scale of the proposed operation, if the Upper Clyde will ever recover.

‘I have no doubt that many soothing words will be spoken and reassurances given, but at the end we will have a sterile, fish-free stream and a guilty conscience that we allowed it to happen’.

Action

Anyone wishing to support the No Quarry campaign should contact Caroline Parker, Chair of CRAG on 07773 904 466.

The photograph above is of Tinto Hill, in the area of Lamington, showing stubble below the hill. It is by copyright holder Richard Webb and is reproduced here under the Creative Commons licence.

Related Posts

• Powerful objections to proposed Lamington Quarry as Clyde overflows (0)
• Call for submission of objections now to quarry application for anglers’ favourite Upper Clyde (1)
• Anglers gear up for action as Paterson’s planning application for upper Clyde quarry goes in (3)
• CRAG and the angling community mobilise against Upper Clyde Lamington Quarry (3)
• Upper Clyde Lamington Quarry objectors raise the protest profile nationwide (1)

---

The Latest News from ForArgyll delivered via email, weekly or daily. You know it makes sense!

---

Comments (rss) | Respond | Ping | | Print This Post