Furious row over relief road as campaigners say 'we're not NIMBYs'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A row has erupted between campaigners battling to block plans for the Carrington Relief Road and town hall bosses, who say the presence of valuable carbon-busting peat in its pathway is ‘not an issue’.

The Friends of Carrington Moss group (FOCM) are furious at Trafford council scrutiny committee’s written response to its concerns over the loss of peat which said: “It is completely misleading to continue to associate the Carrington Relief Road with peat.” The UK’s peatlands are believed to be environmentally precious because they store over three billion tonnes of carbon – roughly the same amount as all the forests in the UK, France and Germany combined.

At the meeting, the council’s director of growth and regulatory services, Adrian Fisher, said: “From the ground investigations that we’ve done there is only a very small element of peat.

In relation to this road, peat will not be an issue.” However, the chair of FOCM Marj Powner has hit back, saying: “Our group has a policy that we do not make statements that cannot be backed up by evidence.” She referenced information provided to planning inspectors by Natural England during the public examination for the Places for Everyone plan - the strategic development plan for Greater Manchester for the next 17 years. READ MORE: A controversial £76m relief road could be built on ex-Shell site - and people are incredibly worried “Natural England, who are experts in relation to peat, confirmed that new peat can only be generated where peat exists today,” she said. “It is an irreplaceable habitat, with limited locations where restoration is possible.” She went on: “It is therefore essential that councillors fully understand the importance of the 335-hectare site Natural England has