What is “screening and scoping” ? Screening is deciding if a project is likely to have significant effect on the environment. The public cannot comment on that. Scoping is the developers asking the planners and us, the public, what must be included in an Environmental Statement for the project. Following the screening and scoping process, Shire Oak intends to apply for retrospective planning permission for this fence. This is really important to them because they have to work the quarry before 8th October, 2016 to avoid having to do a restoration plan. Health and Safety would not allow them to quarry without a fence.

Both the Secretary of State and the Judicial Review concluded that the project at Dean does require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). You can see Shire Oak’s screening and scoping application at www.planning.cornwall.gov.uk/online-applications/. You then have to enter the keywords Dean Quarry or PA16/07620 for screening and PA16/07621 for scoping.

Since you can’t comment on screening, save time by clicking only on PA16/07621 (see link below). You can read the related documents and submit your own comments online. The key comment for us all to make is that the fence is the first step to enable quarrying to take place. Shire Oak thinks they can avoid having an EIA for buildings by “mobile quarrying”, that is without any buildings. But the fence is the exception because it is the only thing that cannot be mobile. If the fence were to be allowed, it would enable mobile quarrying and then beat the 8th October 2016 deadline. WE CANNOT ALLOW SHIRE OAK QUARRIES TO TRY ONCE AGAIN TO "SALAMI-SLICE" THE PLANNING.