£250,000 plan to turn quarry into nature site

A disused quarry near Bridgnorth which has stood idle for two years could be transformed into a nature reserve under ambitious plans.

Eardington Parish Council hopes to find £250,000 to buy the quarry at Astbury and turn it into a wildlife and nature reserve. The council has been given more time to find the cash following a meeting with bosses of the quarry's owner, Lafarge UK.

Parish clerk Eileen Reynolds said: "We held a meeting with Lafarge's agent, Savills UK, who agreed to give the parish council more time to find funding.

"We need to have further details about the land to go ahead with purchasing the quarry before turning it into a nature reserve.

"Nobody has offered us any money yet but it's still early and we'll keep trying all the relevant bodies."

More than 100 people turned up to a meeting this month to protest against the sale of the quarry following concerns about the affect it would have on rare and protected animals.

Chelmarsh Parish Council also discussed the proposed sale and has written to Shropshire Council to ensure the site is returned to a natural state.

Lafarge had originally marketed the site and councillors feared the company would not implement conditions attached to the original planning permission, granted in 1967.

The conditions related to the quarry being returned to a nature state after being used as a mixed concrete plant and, in 1983, as a sand and gravel processing plant.

Processing continued until 2010 and an ecological survey was undertaken by Shropshire Council, which identified protected species on the site.

A Lafarge spokeswoman said it was open to working with the parish council on the future of the site.

She said: "We are aware of the amount of local interest in the site and the desire for it to become, potentially, a nature reserve with public amenity. We look forward to receiving the parish council's bid in due course."