GRS form new joint venture in Surrey
Materials group GRS partners with Down To Earth Developments to form Alton Road Aggregates
BRITISH construction materials group GRS has formed a new joint venture to run an aggregates production and inert waste disposal business in Surrey. The deal sees Warwickshire-based GRS partner with Guildford-based Down To Earth Developments (DTE), with each firm taking a 50% stake in Alton Road Aggregates Ltd (ARA), formerly Earthline Waste Ltd.
Initially the business will operate a single quarry and waste facility off Alton Road, near Farnham, but the partners plan to grow the business and already have their sights set on other potential operations across Surrey and Hampshire.
The venture brings together DTE’s operational expertise in mineral extraction and land remediation with GRS’s aggregates and waste trading network. The Alton Road quarry will supply sand to the local market, as well as GRS bagging plants west of London, and take in inert demolition and excavation wastes to restore and landscape the site.
With an operational lifespan of more than 10 years, the partners believe the site is ideal for recycling demolition and excavation waste, diverting as much as possible away from landfill. Materials which cannot be recovered would be used to restore the 36ha landscape, subject to planning permission and associated permitting.
GRS chief executive Jon Fisher said: ‘We have been working with the team at DTE for a while, so forming a joint venture is a natural next step for both businesses. It gives us a foothold in this part of the South East and a strong platform for growth, with the potential to turn construction spoil into new aggregate in line with our vision to accelerate circularity in construction.’
Ben Maclean, owner of DTE, said: ‘We’re proud of our track record in land reclamation and recovery, and we have the expertise, experience, and management systems to deliver exemplar schemes. Getting together with GRS is a massive boost to the development and remediation of the Alton Road site and we’ll be working with the local community, councils, and agencies to ensure that restoration is to the highest standards for the benefit of people and wildlife alike.’
With a business model based around resource efficiency, GRS are increasingly meeting the UK’s demand for aggregates with secondary materials made from inert wastes. One example is Enviroc granite, a by-product of mining for china clay in Cornwall and Devon, which GRS already ship into London by sea.
The new joint venture is another step in GRS’s growth strategy. Last year the Group formed a joint venture with Devon-based secondary materials specialists Ocean Blocks & Aggregates, and also acquired specialist ground stabilization contractors Soil Science Ltd, pioneers of a low-carbon, zero-waste, and easily reversible soil stabilization system for temporary enabling works.
