Breedon wins extension to Ethiebeaton quarry
24 January 2012
Angus Council’s Planning Authority today agreed to extend the life of two of Scotland’s most strategically important quarries, based at Monifieth, in a move that secures local jobs for the next three decades.
Breedon Aggregates and The Geddes Group submitted a joint proposal to extend their quarries at Ethiebeaton and Ardownie, which will see the two quarries merging to create a single unit. The extension means the companies can continue to produce crushed rock, asphalt, recycled aggregates and ready-mixed concrete for the next 30 years at current rates of production.
Between them Breedon Aggregates and The Geddes Group sites currently support over 50 local jobs, but also generate significant indirect employment through HGV drivers and their supply chains, with maintenance, supplies and specialist support all regularly needed at the quarries.
The quarries supply vital construction materials to projects in Dundee city and South Angus and although the new planning consent will see the two quarries eventually merging, both companies will continue to operate as two separate entities, utilising their existing site infrastructures.
Alan MacKenzie, Chief Executive of Breedon Aggregates Scotland, commented: “Angus Council has recognised that the Ethiebeaton and Ardownie quarries are key strategic assets to the area. Scotland’s aim is to maintain a 10-year land bank for construction aggregates, of which an identified shortfall in the Angus and Dundee area has now been alleviated by this planning permission.
“Given the national importance of future infrastructure projects in Angus and the surrounding regions, we are delighted to be able to continue to play our part in serving those projects in the future.”
The two sites jointly produce approximately 500,000 tonnes of crushed rock per annum, giving the two quarries the capacity to produce an estimated 15.9 million tonnes over their 30-year lifetime. A further year will be required to completely restore the site once quarrying is complete.
Alan MacKenzie added: “The positive benefits of this extension are clear: it will contribute to building up Scotland’s reserves of construction aggregates; it will sustain and encourage employment; and it will reduce long-distance haulage by supplying local projects using local materials.”
The restoration will focus on providing a range of natural wildlife habitats that will offer increased biodiversity to the area, and potentially increased access in the region to recreational facilities. The plans include woodland planting and the creation of two bodies of water.
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