Thanks to NGIN for this. Looks like 2001 could produce a local government
rebellion on GMOs in the UK. Lincolnshire is in the most commercial arable
farming county in the whole of England. We understand that this unanimous
decision includes farmer members of the council.
NATURAL LAW PARTY WESSEX
nlpwessex@bigfoot.com
www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex
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Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph November 17
Council's bid to ban GM crops
THE first steps towards banning the growing of GM crops are being taken
by a local authority. West Lindsey District Council has begun a long
process of attempting to force an end to the controversial trials of
winter rape with sites at North Kelsey and Spital-in-the-Street. It is
the first authority to flex its muscle by calling for an investigation
into whether the sites need planning permission. And if other
authorities follow suit there could be enough strength to launch a legal
challenge against the Government and get the trials stopped, according
to campaigners. Kate O'Connell, of Lincolnshire's anti-GM group the Gaia
Trust, says at least a dozen other councils subject to trial sites are
considering similar moves. And Environment Secretary Michael Meacher has
said: 'If enough councils object to the trials, there will be no
alternative but to stop them.'
Ms O'Connell said: 'That's what we're working towards. 'West Lindsey has
been brilliant, getting there before anyone else. 'No one council will
succeed alone, but
together they should have a strong enough voice that even the Government
can't ignore,' she said. The aim is for at least 10 councils to call for
a halt on testing or question the legality of the trials in planning
terms so that the Local Government Association takes up the campaign. At
present the Government sanctions GM schemes, saying there is no need for
local planning permission and consultation
because the trials are defined as agricultural. But the Gaia Trust, in
tandem with Greenpeace and other groups, believes this is wrong. West
Lindsey councillors have now unanimously called for a report from
officers investigating whether GM crop testing can be outlawed because
it constitutes a change of land use. They want testing sites to be
redefined from agriculture to research, which would put them under the
Town and Country Planning Act of 1990.
This would force consultation and give the council the power to refuse
permission. The officers' report, which is to be presented back to
members early next year, could lead to legal action against the
Government over GM sites n although West Lindsey is unlikely to go it
alone for fear of costing taxpayers