In May last, we gave you a run down of the jobs NPCB has in hand.
You can now add the extension of the quarry in Le Saint to the list, since PNCV, the local association, asked for NPCB's assistance.

This family-run, artisanal quarry that produces the most beautiful, fine-grain granite for cut stone has been sold to Cointo-Pigeon, an industrial group that is planning to switch from 4,000 tonnes to ... 100,000 tonnes per year to be put through a crusher in order to produce gravel for road surfacing! Eighty homes stand within a few hundred meter radius of the present quarry. If the project is allowed to go ahead, they will be subjected to the noise, dust, blasts, lorry traffic generated by the 25-fold increase. The environment will suffer badly, the area around the quarry harbours several rare or endangered species and habitats, and the streams that rise on the hill where the quarry stands run into the Ruisseau du Moulin du Duc, a major tributary of the Aër, which itself flows into the Ellé.
The company is currently working on its application for an authorization to extend the production. This means that we can prepare ourselves for another public enquiry in a few months' time.

The whole business is crazy. Only a few months ago, the Conveau quarry in Gourin was moth-balled by its operator, Eurovia, thereby destroying a dozen jobs or so. Since that time, several of their subcontractors have closed down, losing that many jobs again. Further south, Eurovia is currently petitioning for an extension of its site in Guilligomarc'h, while Cointo-Pigeon wants to open a quarry in Arzano, both public enquiries are scheduled in September next.
There's a distinct feeling that we are mere pawns on a regional chess game, that the environment, the general interest, public health, quality of life, property value count for nothing compared with the ambitions of a few private industrial groups.
And anyway, with all these quarries churning out gravel like mad, we'll end up with more than enough to tarmac the whole of central Brittany!

On 28 June, the 21 mayors of the Communauté de Communes du Pays du Roi Morvan voted unanimously against the Le Saint extension. Like PNCV, like NPCB, they want the site to remain a valued source of top-quality cut-stone, employing qualified workmen and stone cutters, to be used for the maintenance and renovation of our built heritage and of listed buildings.
On 2 July, a demonstration was organised in Le Saint to show the opposition to the planned extension. Nearly 300 supporters answered the call, including a fair sample of our elected representative. And that's only a beginning!

Meanwhile, you want to tick two dates in your calendars:
Our next walk down the Ellé will take place on Sunday 4 September. Do join us at the car park near Sainte-Barbe at 10.00 with your packed lunch, and you'll get a chance to explore some more of this wonderful river.
And on Sunday 2 October, we'll have our Victory fest-noz in Plouray to celebrate the end of three years of fight against the mega-dump ... and the start of another fight against the mega-quarry!
Meanwhile, be sure to sign the petition and get your friends to sign it too! You'll find the forms in the local shops, or on line HERE