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Posted by Editor on 16th May 2011 at 09:01 PM
Video: MP slams Irlam peat scandal
by Tom Rodgers and Jamie Carruthers

In this interview with local MP Barbara Keeley, we discuss the recent controversy around peat extraction on Chat Moss, Irlam.

This month, local residents discovered that horticulture company William Sinclair was still taking peat from the land at Chat Moss.

The Lincoln-based business produces peat composts for garden centres across the UK.

Activists thought they'd scored a victory against the wanton destruction of the land when licences came to an end in December last year.

Imagine their surprise when they found William Sinclair - who have applied for another 15 years of peat extraction licence - still milling for peat in May.

No attempt was made to hide the fact, and Salford Council were forced to slap a legal order on any company still taking peat from the mosslands.

Chat Moss is big. Really, really big. In fact, the ecologically-important mosslands cover a full third of the total land area of Salford, more than 10 square miles.

And as the MP explains, it is perhaps because the site is so vast that it is difficult to enforce any breaches in policy.

The mosslands also extend into Wigan; an area without a Temporary Stop Notice, where companies are free to continue working the peat and destroying the fragile ecosystem.

When SalfordOnline filmed with the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, tractors and trailers appeared to be still working the land, moving vast peat stockpiles from the Salford side of the site across to Wigan.

Whatever the case, the worked-on mossland, once green and lush, is now a bare, brown and barren landscape.

The case for extending peat extraction in Irlam will be heard at Salford Council on 19 May.


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