In reply to jon:
> I'm with Phil. If you think that an activity such as climbing should take precedence over jobs, then you are deluded. And I should say that I used to live in Tideswell before moving away from the soggy isle and so know the area well.
Fair enough, but if that's your only argument it's extremely weak. So you used to live in Tideswell? I live in a village about 8 miles from there of the same size...what's your point? It's nothing to do with localism, it's to do with an awareness of how the industry works, and how money oriented the application is. He will make millions from the aggregate in a thinly disguised quarrying operation for a start.
I'm certainly not arguing that climbing should take precedence over jobs (even though there'll be few of those long term), I'm arguing that a wholly pointless industry that does more harm than good on a global and national scale should not exist anywhere, let alone in the Peak.
When I say "pointless" I'm referring to the amount of water it takes to make a bottle which is then filled with...water. I'm talking about the 17m barrels of oil that the uindustry uses every year. I'm talking about the fact that tap water is consistently rated as tastier than bottled water and that in practically every measure, the stuff out of the tap is as good as or better than the bottled stuff.
If you can make some coherent arguments for the bottled water industry, then go right ahead, but I suspect you'll struggle.