Stop exploitation of now natural habitat and a small community.

Since 2003 a small community in south Wales has been living in fear, whilst rejecting a commercial reopening of a quarry. The quarry was closed some 50 years ago and has now been reclaimed by nature rather than man. It is now beautiful, home to many wild species of plant and animal life, the industrial scar made good or at least better by mother nature. In the passing half century several generations of villagers have come to like it as it is. Peaceful and natural locally known as "the Canyon"

The commercials want to reopen it as a 20 year long ?reclamation? project and extract even more minerals, named as "sandstone","limestone" in the application but which probably includes coal as it exists on site (sources of locked up CO2) whilst at the same time destroying not only natures work for 50 years but also by building a new access road in neighbouring Torfaen_ Tir Pentyws. The Planning Application would destroy ancient woodland. This factor alone will also be a hazard for the wildlife who have yet to learn the highway code & green cross code.
Google earth has some pictures available
Lat 51°42'20.56"N
Long 3° 6'28.97"W
There is a blog spot with many more photos at http://www.stopthequarry.blogspot.co.uk/
which also reveals lots more written detail. Please note there is more than just one quarry petition in the area of late, so blogs up to and including Monday Feb 18th 2013 refer.

Several generations have never known it otherwise.
Re opening the "open cast mine" for "reclamation" & commercial gain, will destroy this valued asset for the world. Not just for the longevity of the work a proposed (20 years) but for ever. If the commercial venture fails due to world economics, what then? We guess it will be abandoned for a second time, nature will have to start again, for what!

As members of this living planet we have a responsibility to leave as we find but never destroyed & raped of its finely balanced resources. What was acceptable yesterday is not acceptable today or in the future we need to learn & teach that responsibility albeit near the twelfth hour.
We call upon the authorities of Torfaen County Borough Council, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, Caerphilly County Borough council and Welsh Assembly Government to dismiss this continued commercial rape of the landscape under the auspices of "reclamation" especially in respect of the "Canyon" aka "Tir Pentwys Disused Quarry".