DR Brian McNeil's letter (May 16) on opencast mining is to be commended. I was particularly interested in the excerpt from an article which says, ''The area surrounding Cumnock in Ayrshire is to become the engine house of the opencast industry . . . Reasons for this include the favourable planning climate.''
This ''favourable planning climate'' has, among other things, led to the Egger chipboard factory. This application was finally welcomed with open arms by East Ayrshire's Labour Council after being firmly rejected by other authorities. The factory is not yet in full production but already lorries carrying supplies are clogging up roads.
There is also a planning application lodged by Wm Skinner & Company for a waste transfer station at Mauchline with proposed lorry movements of over 300 per week. They are having to move their present site from Ayr because South Ayrshire refused planning permission, as they also did recently to an opencast site at Lochlea five miles from Mauchline - what a difference a boundary makes! Of course we are told that the waste transfer station near an opencast site is ideal. Obviously, since they can use the waste as landfill.
These councillors continue to reassure us that there are no risks involved despite the fact than an inadequate road infrastructure at peak is reaching gridlock. Of even greater concern is the fact that last week the people of Muirkirk, faced with opencast mining literally at their back door, were showered with boulders, stones, and other debris following a ''controlled'' explosion at a nearby opencast mine. Fortunately no-one was injured - this time.
Could this favourable planning climate in East Ayrshire perhaps be due to the fact that the Labour-controlled council has in its numbers those whose outside interests include opencast mining?
Presumably this will be of interest to Donald Dewar when he is considering the discussion paper on the new ethical framework for local government in Scotland.
Robert Clark,
2 Rankine Drive,
Mauchline.
May 17.
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