We posted about Blackhill’s closing down sale last year; about how:
HGVs have been streaming out of Blackhill Quarry in an obvious push to clear the stocking area before the end of this year - when both this area and the plant area are due to be restored.
Whether discounted or not, a substantial amount of material was sold out of Blackhill towards the end of last year, and ended up not only being being transported to ready mix concrete stocking yards across Devon, but also being included in the 2017 sales figures.
How much material was involved? In 2015, in a failed attempt to extend processing operations at Blackhill in an area surrounded by European nature designations, Aggregate Industries claimed:
Blackhill Quarry currently occupies approximately 60,000m2 of surface area for material stockpiling, equating to some 140,000 tonnes of material storage capacity. 6.42
What was the impact of this clearance on Devon’s sales figures?
According to DCC, in 2017 Devon’s sand and gravel sales were 598,000 tonnes – a rise on 2016 figures that closely matches Blackhill's storage capacity.
Last year was otherwise a period of subdued construction activity when, according to MPA and government statistics, almost all regions in the UK – including the south west – saw falls in sand and gravel sales.
