Change proposed for Swinden and Threshfield quarries

TARMAC are to apply for planning permission to extract a further 24 million tonnes of limestone from Swinden Quarry, in North Yorkshire, in substitution for the 24 million tonnes of limestone that the company could extract from nearby Threshfield Quarry.

If approved, Threshfield’s planning permission would be surrendered and the site restored within two years, around 35 years ahead of schedule. This would reduce total active quarrying in the local area from 122ha down to 71ha and remove the potential for approximately 50,000 additional lorry movements per year up to 2042.

The proposal would also allow maximum use of the modern, energy-efficient processing plant at Swinden as well as the site’s rail link to transport the limestone to market. Tarmac say they do not propose to increase the annual output of stone from Swinden Quarry as the additional reserves, which are located within the presently permitted boundary, would be extracted over an extended 10-year period.

The application, which is expected to be submitted before the end of this year, will be accompanied by an environmental statement giving careful consideration to all the environmental implications, particularly with respect to the site’s location within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Restoration proposals for Swinden include advance woodland planting, creation of a 34ha lake with large areas of shallow water and marginal wetland, retention of limestone cliff habitats, creation of calcareous grassland and the ongoing management of these habitats.