Major restoration at Moel y Faen

A North Wales quarry that has produced aggregates for civil engineering and construction projects for the past three decades is being progressively restored to create heath and heather moorland. Moel y Faen Quarry, owned and operated by Jones Bros Civil Engineering, is the largest of several slate quarries in the Horseshoe Pass, which is an area of significant natural beauty in the heart of North Wales. 

Slate quarries have been a feature of the North Wales landscape for more than 300 years, producing mainly roofing slates. And the remaining legacy of slate waste tips is a prominent feature of the local landscape.

Moel y Faen Quarry lies adjacent to the Berwyn and South Clwyd Mountains and forms part of the Ruabon/Llantysilio Mountains and Minera site of special scientific interest (SSSI). The site also lies within the proposed extended range of the Clwydian area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB).

Innovative restoration techniques, such as the spreading of baled heather brash, and the translocation of heather from extraction areas, have been employed to establish an appropriate seed base for the restoration that has already been completed on 4ha of the 15-acre quarry. Moel y Faen was acquired by family firm Jones Bros in the late 1980s and, since then, has been worked on an ad hoc basis serving Jones Bros contracts exclusively.

Graham Gibson, senior materials manager for Jones Bros Civil Engineering, said: ‘Owning Moel y Faen Quarry has helped us to succeed in winning substantial local contracts where we have the flexibility to tailor the quarry services and facilities to the specific contract requirements.

Mr Gibson confirmed that a new consolidating planning consent was approved last year for slate waste extraction and processing to continue at the site until 2032. ‘We also have permission for the re-processing and sale of imported inert materials,’ he continued. ‘With both these resources at our disposal, the quarry can now provide a comprehensive range of aggregates for the wider civil engineering and construction markets.’

The site is permanently manned and, when needed, Jones Bros can call on their extensive fleet of earthmoving and processing plant for the production of materials on site.