We have had a response from the British Embassy which is copied below. Seems they are willing to help us by asking questions so thanks to all of you who signed and sent the letter.
Response as follows:
British Embassy
Sehit Ersan Caddesi 46/A
Cankaya 06680
Ankara
Dear Fiona,
Thank you for your letter of 30 November to my Ambassador - Nick Baird - concerning the possible construction of a Cement Factory, near where you live in Uzumlu, Fethiye. He has asked that I reply on his behalf, but has seen and approved the substance of this letter.
Our initial enquiries with the Turkish Ministry of the Environment led to them sending us a copy of a document which confirmed that the project would not be permitted. I believe you also have a copy. We have no information to suggest that this has been overruled. We can check once again that this is the case, and will let you know the outcome. However, we are unable to intervene directly with the Ministry on the specifics of your case, including the latest developments you describe in your letter. It is the responsibility of the Turkish authorities to investigate / make judgements about the action taken and we would encourage you to continue to make representations to the Environment Ministry in this instance.
Nevertheless, we are able to ask about your case as part of our wider interest in Turkey's EU accession process. The Environment Chapter Screening report contains a number of EU Directives on public participation in decision-making and on Environmental Impact Assessments. We are following this chapter and Turkish legislation closely and cases of this kind are very useful.
It would be of help if you would keep me informed of developments, in particular any copies of the representations you make or have made to the Ministry and any response you receive. I can then refer to them in discussions with them.
We have also received letters from others in your area and I will look to send a similar standard response to them. Happy to talk any of this through with you personally.
Yours sincerely,
Dan
Dan Wilson
Second Secretary Energy and Environment
British Embassy, Ankara
