Wight Building Materials open new asphalt plant

£3.5 million, state-of-the-art, low-emission asphalt plant officially opened at Blackwater Quarry on IoW

LAST Friday [1 August] saw the official opening of Wight Building Materials’ new asphalt plant at Blackwater Quarry, St George’s Down, on the Isle of Wight.

Representing a £3.5 million investment for Wight Building Materials, a joint venture between Aggregate Industries and Eurovia, the state-of-the-art plant will play a central supply role in the delivery of road maintenance and highway upgrade programmes under the island’s 25-year PFI contract.

The plant was officially opened by local MP Andrew Turner, who said: ‘The original location proposed for this asphalt plant was on the banks of river Medina. That suggestion was very controversial and I vigorously opposed it, so it is very gracious of Scott [Wardrop from Eurovia] to have invited me to open the new plant today.

‘Whatever differences we had are now behind us and I’m pleased that, eventually, the right solution was found. It was important that we reached this point because this plant is absolutely vital to the future success of the PFI.’

Wight Building Materials board member Philippe Frenay commented: ‘This plant will play an important part in the local economy, employing 40 people on site and providing plenty of opportunities down the supply chain.’

Simon Willis, chairman of Wight Building Materials, added: ‘We now have a modern, low-emission plant capable of providing quality, high-performance products to meet the needs of our customers.’