Torr Quarry - Aggregate Industries

Torr Quarry
Proposed deepening
Marston House, Regional Headquarters of Aggregate Industries.
The planning application will be submitted to Somerset County Council in December
2009.
Prior to this there will be exhibitions of the proposal in Cranmore, Wanstrow and
Downhead as well as the quarry.* We have distributed this leaflet within the
communities local to Torr Quarry as well as to statutory and non-statutory organisations
likely to have an interest or be a consultee when the planning application has been
submitted.
For further details contact:
* Public exhibitions are to take place;
John Penny, Estates Manager or
Joanne Baker, Senior Estates Surveyor
10 November 2009
4pm-8pm at Cranmore Village Hall
Aggregate Industries UK Limited
Marston House
Marston Bigot
Frome
Somerset
BA11 5DU
Tel: 01373 451001
Fax: 01373 836501
11 November 2009
4pm-8pm at Wanstrow Village Hall
12 November 2009
4pm-8pm at Downhead Parish Church
13 November 2009
1pm-5pm at Torr Works
14 November 2009
9am-1pm at Torr Works
Email address: torrworks@aggregate.com
or visit our website at:
www.aggregate-uk.com/torr
A member of the Holcim Group
A member of the Holcim Group
Welcome to
Torr Quarry
Andy Shakeshaft, Quarry Manager, oversees
operations at Torr Quarry.
Quarrying began at Torr Quarry (formerly Merehead Quarry) in East Cranmore, Somerset
in the 1940s. In 1958 the quarry was acquired by Foster Yeoman, who operated the site
until it was sold to Aggregate Industries in 2006.
Torr Quarry is one of eight active quarries on the Mendips, three of which are run by
Aggregate Industries.
Over 100 people are directly employed at Torr Quarry, with a further 200 people in
associated operations at the quarry and at nearby Marston House, which serves as a
regional headquarters for Aggregate Industries. It is estimated that Torr Quarry
contributes more than £15 million towards the local economy each year.
Torr Quarry is a 600 acre site, located seven kilometres east of Shepton Mallet, 200 acres
of the site have been landscaped to blend in with the surrounding countryside.
Historically, the quarry has produced eight million tonnes per annum, although output
is currently capped at six million tonnes per annum.
Torr Quarry is an important source of construction aggregates, both locally and for other
areas including the South East of England, where there are no similar resources. Threequarters of its output is transported by rail, predominantly to the aggregates market in
the South East.
Current
Outlining
Planning Permission for the deepening of Torr Quarry to 115 metres Above Ordnance
Datum (AOD) was granted in 2000. The quarry is subject to a six million tonnes per
annum output limit.
At current working practices, the quarry has a working life of approximately 6½ years.
Reserves at depth within the main quarry at Torr have been identified, all lie within the
current planning permission boundary. It is merely proposed to go deeper, not extend
the quarry outwards.
situation
Permission was also granted in 2000 to quarry and landscape adjoining land at
Leighton, and for the construction of a reservoir on land at Wellington Farm.
We are currently extracting stone from the lowest bench with planning permission.
Reserves remain in the Leighton extension area, but these can only be extracted at a rate
of one million tonnes per annum.
Reproduced by permission of OrdnanceSurvey on behalf of HMSO.
(c) Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Licence No. 100038954
our proposal
Extraction from the main quarry is already sub-water table. The existing water
management system in place at the quarry will continue in agreement with Somerset
County Council and the Environment Agency.
We also propose to increase the output limit to eight million tonnes per annum.
This increase is to cater for fluctuations in demand as major contracts arise.
The additional tonnage will be distributed by rail. Based on current and anticipated
outputs, it is envisaged that quarry operations at Torr Quarry will be completed by 2040.
Reproduced by permission of OrdnanceSurvey on behalf of HMSO.
(c) Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Licence No. 100038954
The
Reproduced by permission of OrdnanceSurvey on behalf of HMSO.
(c) Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Licence No. 100038954
restoration
As this is a development to further deepen the quarry below the water table, there is
no proposal to modify the previously approved restoration strategy.
The existing approved strategy for the restoration of the quarry includes landscaping to
prevent views into the working quarry, the progressive replication of natural limestone
features and the creation of wildlife habitats above what will eventually be a lake.
The approved restoration scheme allows the site to be used for a range of potential after
uses including:
• Recreational use of the lakes and surrounding areas
• Use of the lakes as a public water supply
• Continued processing and distribution by rail of rock brought to the
site from other quarries
• Alternative industrial or other employment generating uses
• More formal leisure or tourism activity
• Maintenance of the rail connection for any of the above uses.
Restoration continues to be carried out progressively meaning that when reserves are
exhausted the restoration will also have been completed. The proposal to go deeper at
the quarry will simply delay the eventual flooding of the quarry, not the approved
restoration scheme.
Progressive restoration of the Western faces of the quarry.
Above: Plans for the permitted restoration of Torr Quarry. Below: An impression of the completed restoration.
Environmental
Environmental
A full Environmental Impact Assessment of the proposal will be carried out and a
statement of the findings and conclusions will be submitted with the planning
application. This will look at impacts upon the character of the landscape, public rights
of way, water resources and ecology.
Aggregate Industries is committed to achieving Biodiversity Benchmark at Torr Quarry.
Our progressive restoration plan is helping us work towards this goal.
There will be an assessment of potential impacts from noise, dust and traffic. Measures
to minimise the impacts and the creation of new wildlife habitats will be considered so
that a balanced decision can be made on the planning application.
"I have been working with Aggregate Industries at Torr Quarry for a number of years.
The site is unusually rich in good habitats, particularly native woodland around the
quarry boundary, as well as new habitats such as flower-rich limestone grassland and
wetland created by careful restoration. The company has achieved the successful
translocation of existing features such as species-rich hedges that are in themselves
valuable to a wide range of wildlife.
impact
initiatives
Environmental
monitoring
John Andrews of Andrews Ecology Ltd commented:
We are currently working on a Biodiversity Management Plan for the whole site to
ensure that its high value is maintained and developed in the future. In this we are
co-operating with David Jarvis Associates whose landscape design expertise will ensure
that wildlife value and attractive landscapes are combined in the most effective way."
The quarry is subject to a number of planning conditions requiring the monitoring of any
environmental impacts. Monitoring of noise, vibration, airborne emissions and water
resources are undertaken on a regular basis.
The results of this monitoring process are reported annually to Somerset County Council
and the Environment Agency. This is undertaken by a dedicated monitoring manager
employed by Aggregate Industries.
Dave Roberts, Monitoring Manager,
undertaking blast vibration monitoring.
The Grizzled Skipper.
Transport
Torr Quarry has a highly effective rail head used for transporting the majority of
aggregates produced. Approximately three-quarters of the quarry’s output is distributed
from the site by rail.
Aggregate Industries operates 13 rail depots across the South and South East of
England.
Supporting the local
community
Aside from being a significant contributor to the local economy, Torr Quarry has long
been supporting local initiatives with schools, businesses, and community groups.
The quarry hosts a large number of quarry visits each year. Some of these are now
undertaken in conjunction with the newly opened East Mendip Study Centre. This is a
major new educational facility provided by the Mendip Quarry Producers, of which
Aggregate Industries is a member.
From these depots and temporary depots the company has supplied many major
infrastructure projects including: The Second Severn Crossing, The Channel Tunnel Rail
Link, and Heathrow Terminal Five.
The Company continues to supply a number of large prestigious contracts in the London
and South East area.
Torr Quarry has direct access on to the A361 – part of the primary road network,
and is subject to a three million tonne per annum limit on output distributed by road.
There will be no increase in this limit.
Class 59001 returning to Torr Quarry.
East Mendip Study Centre.
Newbold Quarry Open Day September 2008