Haughmond Hill Quarry owners bid to increase site size
Developers have announced fresh plans to extend a quarry in Shropshire – almost four years after previous controversial proposals to increase the site by around nine acres were approved.
Bosses at Aggregate Industries UK Ltd's Haughmond Hill Quarry near Shrewsbury want to expand to the north of the existing site and hope to submit a planning application before the end of the year.
The scale of the expansion is not yet known but bosses claim the move will safeguard jobs at the quarry for a further 40 years.
It is hoped the plans will go on show at public exhibitions later this year.
The quarry currently employs 31 people and produces gritstone with skid-resistant properties used in road surfacing.
Much of the material is used on local roads, but some is used in the West Midlands and stretches of the M1 have also been surfaced using the Shropshire stone.
Quarry bosses are currently seeking permission from Shropshire Council to carry out an environmental impact assessment at the site - which would support a future planning application.
In 2009, controversial plans to extend the southern end of the quarry by around nine acres were approved by Shropshire Council.
At the time Aggregate Industries said the move would help it extract nearly three million tonnes more stone by 2020.
But 19 objections were raised by local residents who claimed the expansion plans would result in the loss of ancient woodland around the site.
Today, a spokesman for Aggregate Industries UK said: "We're hoping to extend to the north of the existing quarry before the end of the year, with the intention of safeguarding jobs for a further 40 years.
"At present 31 people are employed at Haughmond, and we work with local hauliers and other contractors."
