Your report that UNESCO wants to curtail slate mining and quarrying in the Lake District, and that this is supported by our own government, is extremely worrying (Gazette, November 29, 'Slate mining 'under threat').
We were assured that our World Heritage Status was based on culture as well as landscape, and mining and quarrying are very much part of the cultural history of the Lakes.
There is also a widespread desire to maintain and increase non-tourist-related employment here, and the slate industry contributes significantly to this.
While quarrying does impact on the landscape, old quarries soon become accepted parts of it. Mines have much less impact, except for the extensive slate waste tips that they and quarries produce.
If the waste can find an economic use in the construction industry, as now seems to be happening, this problem is much reduced.
However, as a conservationist, my main concern is about the supply of Cumbrian slate for the repair of the roofs of buildings all over the country.
When I was working in Scotland, where the slate industry has sadly died out, we persuaded the authorities that Blue Burlington was a sufficient likeness to be used on Edinburgh's historic buildings.
There is thus a widespread need for Cumbrian slate. Of course, no government is going to deny Cumbrian slate for the repair of the roof of the Palace of Westminster, but many less significant buildings need it as well.
While the slate industry must work with the Lake District National Park Authority to minimise the impact of quarrying on the landscape, UNESCO need to take a wider view of the importance of Cumbrian slate on historic buildings. Central Edinburgh is a World Heritage Status site too.
Oliver Barratt MBE
Grange-over-Sands
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