Aggregate Industries has been struggling to win permission to re-open Bartletts Quarry in Somerset. Councillors made their feelings known about the plan earlier in the year with a definitive 7-0 decision. Clearly showing its disdain for local democracy, the company returned last month with essentially the same application – not surprisingly attracting the wrath of locals once again.
If Aggregate Industries hadn’t got enough troubles already, this month Hanson turned up the heat with a planning application to re-open a 160 million-tonne limestone quarry right next door – as reported in SomersetLive. Hanson’s planning statement reads:
Hanson is seeking to secure the long-term resumption of permitted limestone extraction from Westdown Quarry. Total permitted reserves at Westdown Quarry are identified as ~160mt... From its neighbouring rail-linked quarry at Whatley, Hanson presently supplies many local and UK wide markets particularly in the south-east of England with limestone aggregate and related products…. With an increasing demand for limestone from a range of national construction projects most notably the ongoing construction of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset and the recently approved High Speed 2 (HS2) rail link from London to Manchester there is increasing emphasis on rail linked quarries like Whatley to supply these large scale, single client markets. This means that Hanson needs to carefully consider a strategy for ensuring that Whatley can continue to supply aggregates to these important, nationally significant construction projects, whilst still meeting the very important needs of the local south-west markets... To achieve this, Hanson is seeking to secure the long-term resumption of permitted limestone extraction from Westdown Quarry. This would allow Whatley to focus on meeting the needs of the UK wide, rail-borne markets, as material from Westdown would supply the local road-borne markets... Output from the quarry would not exceed 2.0mt per annum.
Aggregate Industries' plans next-door are rather more modest:
The proposed development would restrict working to the permitted reserves that exist above the water table within Bartletts Quarry, which are approximately 3 million tonnes.
The battle in the Mendips over millions of tonnes of limestone puts into perspective Aggregate Industries' decade-long pursuit of an almost inconsequential sub-million-tonne sand and gravel prospect in East Devon – a prospect on a greenfield site 23 miles away from the processing plant. Has Aggregate Industries lost its business marbles over Straitgate Farm, or is there a cunning and masterly plan?
