THE claim that Yennadon Quarry has always been operational and part of the local heritage doesn’t necessarily make it right for it to continue and expand. There comes a point where degradation of land must stop.

In previous years the quarry was operated on a much smaller scale, with smaller, quieter machinery extracting the stone and far fewer truck and other vehicle movements each day.   Such quarrying was perfectly acceptable.  

In recent times the scale of the quarrying has escalated to the point it has become a large scale commercial operation and can no longer be thought of as part of the heritage or ‘centuries old way’, no longer in keeping with guidelines for the use of a national park.

This larger operation produces unacceptable noise levels, dust and diesel fume pollution for nearby residents as well as national park users across Yennadon Down, from early dawn until the close at 6pm, with noise from pumps often continuing 24 hours a day.  

If allowed to expand, the operators have indicated they will increase the workforce and add an extra truck, meaning more pollution and noise.  It has become far too large an operation within a national park and so close to a residential area.

One only has to see the degraded state of Iron Mine Lane, where the tar section has disintegrated, making it hazardous for local vehicles to negotiate. The latter half of last year saw truck movements escalate on a large scale, both Yennadon Quarry trucks and those of other companies. 

Some of these trucks were far too large to safely negotiate the narrow roads through Dousland, com-promising the safety of other road users.  Other safety issues concern trailers being allowed to carry stone, piled high, in an unsecured manner, at times allowing large rocks to fall from them as they negotiate the pot holed road. The quarry also has a large number of courier vehicles on a daily basis, most of which travel at high speed, dangerous for dog walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

As for the claim of local employment, has anyone checked to see where these employees live? Where do they spend their money?  Is it within Dous-land/Yelverton?

Safety of park users as well as employees is obviously of no regard to the quarry operators. Recently a large area of fence has been seriously undermined by the quarrying operation, with fence posts totally knocked out of the ground, the ground then collapsing in a landslide situation, leaving the posts hanging mid-air (see pic).

An attempt to re-fence it has impinged on to national park land, outside of the quarry area.  Most of the quarry boundaries have been worked right up to, and in several areas, beneath the fence line, making this not only dangerous for people using the moor, children in particular, but also livestock that naturally use fence posts  to rub against.  This undermining also poses a severe safety hazard for employees. 

In years past, a margin of several feet was always allowed around the perimeter which gave some measure of safety for anyone on the moor particularly during periods of bad visibility.  If allowed to expand its operations, who will police these safety issues?

It is only right that due time is taken to consider all the facts.

Eric Chapman (Regular user of Yennadon down)

Dousland