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🇸🇪 Sweden /Culture & Society

Protests grow over quarry plans: “One of the country’s most important areas”

From Dagens Nyheter · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources In the courts
  • Residents of Söderåsen in northwestern Skåne are opposing Svevia’s plan for a 45-hectare quarry near Kågeröd.
  • The company plans to extract 18 million tons of rock and moraine over 30 years, with up to 100 truck journeys a day.
  • Protesters say the project threatens protected nature, groundwater, wildlife and the character of the nearby village; 3,500 people have signed a petition.

A proposed quarry covering an area the size of 60 football fields has triggered a growing backlash in the forests of Söderåsen, in northwestern Skåne. Residents fear that a landscape valued for its protected nature and walking trails could be damaged permanently.

The state-owned company Svevia wants to establish a 45-hectare quarry on the southern slope of Söderåsen, outside Kågeröd. The plan calls for extracting 18 million tons of rock and moraine over 30 years. According to Svevia, the operation could bring up to 100 truck journeys through the village each day.

It would be a catastrophe for the entire area.

· Lena LilliérA nearby resident describing the feared impact of the proposed quarry.

Lena Lilliér and Thomas Arnström are among 3,500 people who have signed a protest petition. They stood at the edge of the proposed site, where walkers enter a landscape of ravines, steep slopes and broadleaf forest. “It would be a catastrophe for the entire area,” Lilliér said.

Arnström, a biologist and former environmental manager for Svalöv Municipality, has lived on Söderåsen for 40 years. He called the location “extremely bad,” pointing to its status as an area of national interest for nature conservation, its proximity to an EU-protected Natura 2000 site and its popularity as a destination.

This is Sweden’s first wilderness.

· Thomas ArnströmA biologist and former municipal environmental manager describing Söderåsen’s landscape.

Lilliér is concerned about the effects on the forest, groundwater and wildlife, but also about daily life in Kågeröd. “It will not be possible to live here with that traffic,” she said, describing a constant queue of trucks, along with stone dust, exhaust fumes and noise.

It will not be possible to live here with that traffic. We will have stone dust, exhaust fumes and noise, and we will no longer have a quiet village.

· Lena LilliérHer concerns about the projected truck traffic through Kågeröd.

The forest attracts walkers, riders and dog owners from Skåne, Denmark and other parts of Sweden. During the pandemic, thousands visited Söderåsen, often filling parking areas near the national park. Arnström says that showed the forest has a value beyond production.

If Svevia receives permission, Arnström says he will appeal to the Land and Environment Court of Appeal. “We must defend the areas we have identified as the most important areas,” he said. Nearby Liaängen nature reserve contains 150 plant species and many animals.

We must defend the areas we have identified as the most important areas.

· Thomas ArnströmHis statement that he would appeal if Svevia receives permission.
About this summary

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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