Approval for major extension to Breedon Quarry

ENNSTONE’s application for the development of significant additional reserves at Breedon Quarry, on the Leicestershire–Derbyshire border, has been approved, extending the working life of the site by at least another 15 years at the current rate of extraction.

The permission comprises three principal elements within a total site area of 70.8ha. This includes 24.2ha in the existing quarry, an extension to the east of the quarry workings of 16.1ha, as well as new road and landscaping areas of 30.5ha.

The permission will allow approximately 16 million tonnes of additional limestone reserves to be processed over the extended lifetime of the quarry.

Commenting on the permission, Ennstone chairman Vaughan McLeod said the planning approval clearly demonstrated that the company’s approach to mineral planning — that of having open and thorough discussions with all interested parties over a lengthy period — had been highly successful.

‘It brings our business an additional 16 million tonnes of reserves, which means that we have achieved our 2004 objective of gaining planning approval for extending our mineral reserves permissions at more than three times our rate of annual extraction,’ he said.