Trucking

The Peak District National Park is not only the busiest National Park in the country but also the most exploited. I draw a distinction between those who eke out a living individually such as a modest small businesses, a dairy farmer on his own land or a shop owner in Bakewell and those who are part of a much greater and more organised national or international enterprise whose commitment to growth means that, unfettered, they will continue to make a greater impact. I put in the latter category those whose business activities are of a significance that impacts significantly on the National Park and which usually promotes itself aggressively using PR techniques and even legal enforcement in some cases. Use of these tools for me defines exploitation, a term I interpret as indicating something more systematic and industrial. Among those who should be considered as in this category are the conservation industry itself and also to an extent certain leisure industries such as mountain biking and of course we shouldn't leave out the grouse moor owners and tenants. But the most significant of these by far is the quarrying industry.

When quarrying gets in the news it's usually the impact on the land that's being quarried that receives attention in the media. This is where the two rival industries of conservation and quarrying go head to head. But quarries impact in other ways too. A petition was presented to the South Community Assembly recently asking for a council ban on HGVs using Bocking Lane. This alarmed other people living on Abbey Lane who feared that would lead to the same traffic then using their road. Residents near Abbeydale Road also lobbied because they too were concerned about a possible increase of traffic and pollution if drivers decided to re-route there. All of this followed a previous decision in Derbyshire to stop the same vehicles going through the village of Holmesfield. These HGVs are nearly all carrying limestone from Derbyshire quarries towards the M1. probably going north. Those heading south will tend to join the M1 at Chesterfield. These vehicles get out early in the morning to avoid the worst congestion and may then return empty later in the day. As the northern boundary of Blacka runs along the A625 you can't ignore these vehicles when exploring that part of the site.
A blanket speed restriction ruthlessly enforced would reduce the impact somewhat but the problem should really be dealt with at source - while there's something left of it: by agreeing what a national park is for before it's all transported along the motorway.