Moving mountains to build a greener London

S Walsh secure long-term agreement with Imerys to develop secondary aggregates from china clay waste

LONDON-based building materials and construction services providers S Walsh have secured a long-term agreement with Imerys Minerals Ltd (IML) to develop the secondary aggregates market in the south-east of England.

IML’s china clay production operations in Cornwall generate millions of tonnes of by-product (stent) annually, much of which can be processed into secondary aggregates.

Recognizing the growing demand for ‘green’ construction materials, S Walsh see the agreement with IML as the catalyst for realizing the potential of this material in the market.

Westley Pickup, commercial director of S Walsh, said: ‘It has always been our long-term vision to secure a sustainable resource to build a greener London. We have undertaken extensive research and know that these products can be used more widely for infrastructure, residential, commercial, education and health construction projects.

‘Secondary aggregate from china clay waste meets the requirements of sustainable building in the UK, but there is a huge lack of understanding of availability and potential for this ‘secondary’ resource and we expect that through our commercial relationships we can share what the possibilities are.’

Plans have been drawn up as part of a long-term strategy by S Walsh across London and the South East for both rail and sea terminals. This will reduce thousands of lorry movements and also provide manufacturing facilities that can provide a range of sustainable construction products to meet the increase in demand that is now being seen in the construction sector.

‘This will represent a major investment in state-of-the-art, low-carbon production plants which will be the most advanced in Europe, as well as providing a new major sustainable employer in manufacturing within the in the region,’ said Mr Pickup.

‘It is vital that sustainability initiatives like this are supported by local and central government to provide reassurance to encourage long-term investment in UK manufacturing. We look forward to working with government bodies, designers, architects, clients and contractors to demonstrate the benefits of using sustainable building materials.’