Remember July 1997, when campaigners took to the trees in protest at plans by ball clay firm Watts Blake Bearne (now part of Sibelco) to divert the rivers Bovey and Teign in South Devon?
Remember when DCC approved the development, ignoring concerns of local people that this would put Teigngrace – already prone to repeated flooding – at even greater risk; ignoring concerns from Devon Wildlife Trust and Professor David Bellamy that habitats would be harmed?
Remember when the "tree-people" – including Swampy of A30 fame – moved in? Remember the march to London, to the Department of the Environment?
The intervention of the eco-warriors proved crucial, as, on July 31st, the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott ordered a temporary halt to WBB's plans.
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Remember the public inquiry in July to September 1998?
It was during the public inquiry that it emerged that WBB had got its figures wrong in calculating the impact of changing the route of the rivers. Studies also found that rare species lived along the affected route.
So much for experts, or rather those in the pay of mineral companies.
As the UK Rivers Network – an organisation that grew out of the campaign – puts it:
Devon County Council had vigorously supported the plan and the Environment Agency had casually rubber-stamped it (failing to notice a massive potential flood risk that our own hydrological experts uncovered very late in the day), even though the overwhelming majority of local people bitterly opposed it. What stopped the plan was a physical occupation of the site, followed by a determined local campaign, energetic government lobbying, and a well-fought public inquiry with environmental activists, local people, and expert lawyers working as a superb team.
One of those lawyers, Charlie Hopkins – who has submitted a number of objections on behalf of Straitgate Action Group – gives more detail:
Six weeks into the Inquiry it emerged that the flow rates used by the applicants on which their computer generated model of the artificial channels was based were unreliable. The scale of the error was such that had the river diversion gone ahead as proposed there could have been widespread flooding of the nearest town downstream, Newton Abbot. As a result of the error which emerged under cross-examination of the developer's experts, WBB were forced to withdraw the application from the Inquiry. In an almost unprecedented decision the Inspector recommended, and the Secretary of State approved, a costs order against the developers in favour of the objectors to the proposal.
Is any of this sounding familiar? Familiar to a few of the things happening at Straitgate Farm?
DCC vigorously supporting the minerals company, ignoring charities, experts and local people with their concerns for ancient habitats, mediaeval fishponds, drinking water and flooding?
Unreliable computer models, in this case the MWWT that has already proved wrong?
Do we need some "tree-people" to focus minds again?
