Solidarity Action for Nine Ladies

[tliouk]

Ref: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/11/301742.html

Early this morning activists blocked Stancliffe Stone a subsidiary of 
Marshall's PLC for three and a half hours using two tripods. 
The action was done to show that regardless of the camp being evicted 
from 9 Ladies site, that Marshall's or Stancliffe Stone are still 
very easy to shut down and that activists can cause economic damage 
in a peaceful non violent way. 

At least half a dozen lories were turned away, that had come to pick 
up finished products and none of the companies lorries ran during the 
action. 
Local police were on the scene in thirty minutes followed by a 
variety of ever increasing police ranks and vehicles that had to park 
up the road because we didn't leave them enough room to park on 
Stancliffe's site. The event turned out to be quite a show for the 
police, as police sergeants, inspectors and chief inspectors started 
to turn up and went inside to speak to Mr Jones of Stancliffe Stone. 
Later a divisional command post turned up as well as Derbyshire's 
police tripod team with the compulsory camera and video crew. 

Mr Jones the head honcho of Stancliffe at first refused to come out 
and talk to any of us, but later, under heavy police escort stated he 
wished us to leave and did not want to engage in dialogue at this 
time, this was one of the requests made by the protest. The Chief 
inspector, then proceeded to read us the caution before arrest, that 
if we didn't leave now we would be arrested, so after some discussion 
with each other it was decided that we did not want to give the 
police tripod team any practise at taking the tripods down and 
evicting the climbers on top (this way we can do it again!) and as we 
started to pack up our kit, Mr Jones offered for us to arrange an 
appointment to come and talk about the situation. There were no 
arrests, and police followed us up the road for a short while, where 
we were met by an enthusiastic local, who congratulated us on our 
action and offered to house our tripods, allowing us to collect them 
at a later date, the police miffed by missing out on a training 
practise walked off the other way. A further scheduled phone blockade 
followed by supporters who could not make the action 

Stancliffe stone has been trying to Quarry the 9 Ladies site since 
1999, but their plans have been stopped by activists living on site 
of the proposed quarrying area in the Peak District National Park, an 
area of outstanding national beauty and importance which is meant to 
be protected for its ecological value and for all people to enjoy. 
In 2001 Marshall's PLC bought out Stancliffe Stone Ltd, which is 
planning to open two dormant Quarries in the Peal Park, near the 9 
Ladies Stone Circle on Stanton Moor (between Bakewell and Matlock). 
The quarrying will devastate a beautiful and valuable area of 
moorland and wooded hillside, as well as heavily impacting on an 
archeologically important site due to a loophole in the law that 
should protect the site. 
A further 47 other dormant quarries in the peak district National 
Park are also vulnerable to having their dormant status lifted and 
being re opened as active quarries using this loophole, which will 
devastate the beauty of the land and communities living near by. 

Further actions are planed, pending the discussions with Mr Jones