Guidance on Assembling Information

Consider the publicly accessable table reflecting the“Form of Application” just looked at. The same table is copied after this text. The general public cannot see this; the page is hidden and can only be accessed with a password issued by the NOTT Campaign Committee. You decide who has access, not me. It is your campaign and the Pont Valley Network simply provides the webspace.

Now consider also the “On-Line Debate” around the supposed benefits and those few comments made by those few that did as I asked. Remember what has been repeatedly said: “The Public Inspector will only consider FACTS presented with specific regard to the APPLICATION UNDER CONSIDERATION”. Emotional pleadings or strident comments not supported by factual evidence will not influence the findings. Indeed, these are worse than useless save to set the stage. WE HAVE TO DEAL IN FACTS and these can be hard to capture during what inevitbly is going to be a long campaign. Truth is usually the first casualty.

What I have in mind to do is what you said you wanted me to do. Manage your information using my particular skills in a way which you might learn to understand. Whoever stands before the Public Inspector or Durham County Council’s Development Control Committee must be able to present facts, clearly and precisely. If we elect to appoint a legally-qualified person to speak on our behalf, he/she will need to be fully briefed as will our expert witnesses. On any count we need to both assemble information and involve our communities progressively. Otherwise we will loose and we also might do this anyway if we continue to look inward on ourselves and our committee as we are now.

Forget about the “presumption against surface mining” for now. UK Coal will make their case very elloquently around the benefits described in their public brochure and, at the next point in the planning process, around their formal application. WE WILL HAVE 21 days then to put up a counter-case and muster all our information. We will need to make full use of the time we have before to assemble this information and mobilise support. This is where our website and this table in particular become critical and we need to start using both intelligently now. The winning of this case is in the preparation and we have ample precedent for this.

I have in mind to use this table, as said at the first meeting to give me a parallel structure to counter anything that UK Coal may say in the only way that UK Coal may say it – through their formal application – what you see in this table – identifying more what they don’t say rather than what they do! There will be few errors of fact in what they say but many errors of ommission by what they don’t say. Neither the NOTT committee nor the Pont Valley Network can do this alone. We need to work together as a team through our work groups, through our website and by this with those that support us but cannot attend weekly meetings for whatever reason. These are our allies

If we assemble our information, progressively in the way of adding content to this table, we can work together and present a case that not only has the support of all our communities but is also crucially factually accurate and free from the emotional arguments that otherwise will be our downfall.

RECOVERY OF COAL THROUGH
EXTRACTION BY OPENCAST METHODS AT DROVERS

Contents
PREFACE
PART 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Legislation
1.2 The Scope of the Environmental Statement
1.3 The Applicant
2.0 The Development Proposal
3.0 Consultation
3.1 History
3.2 Prospecting
3.3 The Coal Industry in County Durham
3.4 The Drovers
PART 2
4.0 DROVERS SITE DESCRIPTION
4.1 Background
4.2 Topography
4.3 Land Ownership
4.4 Mineral Ownership
4.5 Land Use
4.6 Buildings and Structures
4.7 Public Rights of Way
4.8 Services
4.9 Shafts
4.10Access
4.11 Summary
5.0 EXPLORATION AND FEASABILITY OF THE SITE
5.1 Background
5.2 Geology
5.3 Other Minerals
5.4 Summary
PART 3
6.0 INTRODUCTION
7.0 SURVEYS AND RESEARCH CARRIED OUT
8.0 SITE OPERATIONS
8.1 Timing
8.2 Initial Site Operations
8.3 Site Works from End of Year 1 to Completion
8.4 Plant and Hours of Working
8.5 Control of Site Operations
8.6 Liaison Comittee
8.7 Television
8.8 Lighting
8.9 Other Minerals

9.0 LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL AMENITY
9.1 Background
9.2 Landscape Character
9.3 Landscape Quality
9.4 Potential Landscape Impacts
9.5 Potential Impacts on Visual Amenity
9.6 Visibility and Zones of Visual Influence
9.7 Sources of Visual Impact
9.8 Selected Representative Viewpoints
9.9 Mitigation Measures
9.10 Summary
10.0 ECOLOGY
10.1 Background
10.2 The Survey
10.3 The Report
10.4 Description of Habitats and Identification of Impacts
10.5 Habitats present Within the Site Boundary
10.6 Evaluation
10.7 Identification of Impacts and Significance
10.8 Mitigation
10.9 Translocation
10.10 Habitat Enhacement
10.11 Habitat Recreation
10.12 Summary and Conclusions
11.0 NOISE
11.1 Background
11.2 Potential Impacts
11.3 Mitigation Measures
11.4 Summary
12.0 DUST
12.1 Background
12.2 Potential Impacts
12.3 Mitigation Measures
12.4 Summary
13.0 BLASTING
14.0 AGRICULTURE AND SOILS
15.1 Groundwater
15.2 Drainage
15.3 Potential Impacts
15.4 Summary ofo Mitigation Measures
16.0 RESTORATION STRATEGY
16.1 Background
16.2 Restoration to Agriculture
16.3 Restoration to Woodland
16.4 Benefits of Increased Woodland Cover
16.5 Restoration to Nature Conservation Area
16.6 Recreational Potential
16.7 Restoration of Tracks and Public Footpaths
16.8 Summary
17.0 Public Rights of Way
17.1 Background
17.2 Potential Impacts
17.3 Mitigation Measures
17.4 Summary
18.0 CULTURAL HERITAGE
18.1 Background
18.2 Historical Background
18.3 Industrial Archeaology
18.4 Potential Impacts
18.5 Mitigation Measures
18.6 Summary
19.0 TRANSPORT
19.1 Background
19.2 Potential Impacts
19.3 Mitigation Measures
19.4 Summary
20.0 NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY
20.1 Background
20.2 Planning Policy Guidance Note No 1: General Policy and Principles
20.3 Planning Policy Guidance Note No 7: The Countryside and theRural Economies
20.4 Planning Policy Guidance Note No 9: Nature Conservation
20.5 Planning Policy Guidance Note No 17: Sport and Recreation
20.6 Planning Policy Guidance Note No 14: Development on Unstable Land
20.7 Mineral Planning Guidance Note No 1: General Considerations etc
20.8 Mineral Planning Guidance Note No 3: Opencast Coal Mining
20.9 Mineral Planning Guidance Note No 7: The Reclamation of Mineral Workings
20.10 Mineral Planning Guidance Note No 11: TheControl of Noise etc
21.0 LOCAL PLANNING POLICY
21.1 Introductionm
21.2 Derwentside District Local Plan
21.3 Durham County Council Structure Plan
21.4 County Durham Structure Plan 1991-2006
21.5 County Durham Minerals Local Plan (Proposed Modifications)*
22.0 MARKETS
22.1 Background
22.2 Markets for Brick Making Material
23.0 SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS
23.1 Background
23.2 Employment
23.3 Economic Benefits
23.4 Other Benefits
24.0 NON TECHNIAL SUMMARY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUPPORTING STATEMENT
LIST OF DRAWINGS

Created on 27/07/2007 12:11 PM by dshields
Updated on 22/08/2007 05:00 PM by rmr