Industry Showcases
As part of this month’s focus on the environment and restoration, we highlight several of the sites singled out for recognition at the Quarry Products Association’s Showcase 2004 event, which took place earlier this year.
The Quarry Products Association’s annual ‘Showcase’ event sets out to challenge perceptions about quarrying by demonstrating the industry’s efforts to minimize and eradicate impacts on the environment and local communities, and to share best practice for the common good. The event recognizes excellence and sustainability across seven key categories — health and safety, restoration, biodiversity and geodiversity, community, heritage, operational best practice, and resource conservation — and this year the assessors identified no fewer than 28 ‘showcase’ sites together with a further 28 that demonstrated ‘good practice’.
Speaking at this year’s event, which was held in London on 31 March, Simon van der Byl, director general of the QPA, said: ‘We have been both impressed and delighted by the response we have received from our members to the concept of showcasing good practice. The challenge of sustainability is a major one for an industry like quarrying, but the showcase demonstrates evidence of genuine action at grass roots level.’
Restoration
Among the operations receiving the accolades this year were two neighbouring quarries from a village in Kent. Both had competed side-by-side for the QPA’s premier restoration award, The Cooper-Heyman Cup. The trophy ultimately went to Canterbury-based Robert Brett & Sons, in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, for their work in creating Watermanship Lake, a new water-based military training facility at Lydd Ranges (see QM May 2004).
Watermanship Lake now forms part of a wider military training area used to hone the skills of British troops. In addition to the serious training, however, the lake is also available for recreational use by army youth teams, cadets from all three services and local community groups. Brett’s brief involved not just a specification for the creation of these facilities, but also some testing environmental requirements, as the site forms part of the Dungeness Site of Special Scientific Interest and is home to some internationally important shingle vegetation.
Hanson Aggregates, in partnership with the RSPB, received the runners-up prize — an Award with Special Merit — for the former Lydd Quarry, which has been transformed into an impressive nature reserve featuring freshwater lakes, islands and wetlands that offer several unique attractions for bird life. Popular with birdwatchers, the site now welcomes around 25,000 visitors through its gates every year.
Four other sites received awards in the restoration category: Lafarge Aggregates’ Harrycroft Quarry in Nottinghamshire for restoration to farmland, New Milton Sand & Ballast for the siting of a waste water treatment plant within a former quarry, Hanson Aggregates’ Hardbank Quarry in Cumbria for restoration to farmland, and Aggregate Industries’ Fledmyre Quarry, near Forfar, for land restored for nature.
Operational best practice
Among the other sites under the spotlight at this year’s event, Swinden Quarry, near Skipton, was showcased in the operational best practice category in recognition of Tarmac Northern’s efforts to create harmony with the local landscape by hiding the quarry operations from view. Around £16 million was spent moving the once prominent processing plant into the bowl of the quarry, re-landscaping the site and planting 10,000 trees. In addition, liaison with the local community helped Tarmac to decide upon a final restoration scheme for Swinden, which, when quarrying finishes in about 2020, will be turned into a nature reserve. The company are also making an annual payment into a trust fund so that the restored site can be maintained in perpetuity.
Similarly, Ingleton Quarry, on the Lancashire/North Yorkshire border, was showcased in recognition of Hanson Aggregates’ efforts to hide its operations from view. Until a few years ago the quarry was very much part of the local skyline, but following a £7 million replant in 1993, the site is now barely noticeable from the outside. As well as repositioning operations, Hanson created a new processing plant and spent £1 million on environmental improvements, including the planting of 27,000 trees, land-scaping and extensive dry-stone walling using Ingleton’s own stone.
Torr Works, near Shepton Mallet, was showcased in recognition of the efforts made by Foster Yeoman to implement a new water-management system. When plans were introduced for the quarry to be excavated below the winter water table, the company made a commitment to regularly monitor the flow of water in three nearby streams that could potentially have been affected. In addition, a sump within the quarry, which was used to store water, was replaced with a 425-megalitre reservoir external to the quarry. This was designed as an attractive lake with areas of reed bed within a parkland setting, which not only looks attractive, but also provides a much-needed wildlife habitat.
Holmescales Quarry, near Kendal, was showcased in recognition of the efforts made by Aggregate Industries to save a colony of newts. Until two years ago, each spring hundreds of great crested newts would migrate from a boggy area in an adjoining disused quarry and swarm into the working quarry. After a company-commissioned survey revealed the presence of some 323 of the amphibians, a state-of-the-art one-way exclusion fence was installed to prevent the newts from straying into the active site.
Mike Webb of environmental consultants SLR said Aggregate Industries had ‘gone the extra mile’ in their handling of this case. On completion of extraction, the company plan to restore the site to a mosaic of habitats that will increase habitat resources for this protected species. This is likely to provide opportunities for the great crested newt population to grow and increase its long-term viability.
Recognition for Aggregate Industries’ Little Paxton Quarry, near St Neots, came as a result of its work in welcoming sand martins as regular visitors. Appreciating the importance of managing the species, the site team worked closely with the RSPB to create a best-practice paper which has been widely circulated both within the company and beyond.
Lafarge Aggregates’ use of local waterways to deliver aggregates was another project to be showcased in this category. Fleets of barges are used to deliver material from Rampton Quarry, in Nottinghamshire, to Leeds, travelling via the Trent, Humber, Lower Ouse and the Aire and Calder Navigation. New handling facilities at Whitwood Wharf, in Wakefield, built at a cost of £2.3 million, mean that greater volumes can be moved in an efficient manner, thereby improving the supply chain. In addition, the development removes up to 25,000 lorry journeys a year from the region’s busy road network.
Community
Aggregate Industries’ Croy Quarry, in Lanarkshire, was showcased in the community category in recognition of the company’s work with the local community to develop a mutually agreed long-term restoration scheme. When it became apparent that the company and the local community were not in immediate agreement about the future of the quarry, a steering group was set up to reach a compromise. Working in partnership with Croy Community Council, a restoration plan was devised for the site that would be an asset for the locals. Plans for Croy Village Park were unveiled at a public exhibition and planning permission was subsequently approved for the site to become a lake with facilities for sport and recreation within a parkland setting.
Biodiversity and geodiversity
Hanson Aggregates’ Needingworth Quarry was showcased in the biodiversity and geodiversity category in recognition of the efforts made by the company, in partnership with the RSPB and Cambridgeshire County Council, to create the largest single area of reed bed in the UK. The site, near Huntingdon, is on the edge of the Fens, which were once a wetland wilderness that attracted legions of wildlife. However, over a period of 350 years from the mid-1600s, the farming industry drained vast areas of the Fens until just one third of one percent remained.
Plans for Needingworth therefore represent a much-needed change in direction. Rather than restoring the land to agriculture once quarrying is finished, Hanson have worked with the RSPB to swing the balance back towards wetland. In about 25 years’ time a 700ha nature reserve will be created, of which 460ha will be reed bed (an area equivalent to more than 430 football pitches).
Lafarge Aggregates’ Thrislington Quarry, near West Cornforth, was showcased in recognition of the efforts made by the company, in partnership with English Nature, to relocate turves of an extremely rare magnesian limestone grassland habitat from an area to be quarried to a protected plantation. Almost 5ha of grassland were translocated in this way to what is now Thrislington Plantation (a Site of Special Scientific Interest). In the longer term, Lafarge are looking to bring other neighbouring areas under the same conservation management regime, ultimately including the quarry itself.
Armstrong Quarry, near Worksop, another Lafarge Aggregates site, was showcased in recognition of the efforts made by the company, in partnership with conservation organization Plantlife, to secure the future survival of a rare variety of moss. Ecological work at the site revealed the presence of flamingo moss, which exists in only eight locations across the UK. The company are now sponsoring a three-year research project to achieve a better understanding of the ecology of flamingo moss in order to ensure that it is conserved for the future.
Messingham Nature Reserve in North Lincolnshire was showcased in recognition of the efforts made by WBB Minerals and their predecessors to create the reserve from a former quarry, and those of Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust who manage it on a daily basis. The 50ha reserve boasts a wide range of habitats ranging from grassland to heathland and marsh to reed bed, each of which is home to a wide variety of wildlife and all of which stems from a mixture of planned restoration and natural re-colonization.
Resource conservation
Attenborough Quarry, near Nottingham, was showcased in the resource conservation category in recognition of RMC Aggregates (Eastern) Ltd’s introduction of a comprehensive programme of energy management, including making greater use of natural light by fitting clear panels in buildings, and the replacement of halogen lighting with high-efficiency systems controlled by photo cells. Timers have also been applied to electric heating systems and pumps used within the quarry, resulting in an energy efficiency gain of 23%. RMC say Attenborough’s energy programme has been so successful that it is now being used as a prototype for energy-management improvements across the company.
Finally, a wind-powered pump installed by Lafarge Aggregates, in partnership with the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, at Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve, near Coventry, also received recognition. The pump was installed to provide a more sustainable way of supplying water to a reed bed created at the site after quarrying. As an added bonus, while the pump does its work for the reed beds at night, during the day it provides water for Lafarge’s nearby ready-mixed concrete plant.
The Quarry Products Association’s annual ‘Showcase’ event sets out to challenge perceptions about quarrying by demonstrating the industry’s efforts to minimize and eradicate impacts on the environment and local communities, and to share best practice for the common good. The event recognizes excellence and sustainability across seven key categories — health and safety, restoration, biodiversity and geodiversity, community, heritage, operational best practice, and resource conservation — and this year the assessors identified no fewer than 28 ‘showcase’ sites together with a further 28 that demonstrated ‘good practice’.
Speaking at this year’s event, which was held in London on 31 March, Simon van der Byl, director general of the QPA, said: ‘We have been both impressed and delighted by the response we have received from our members to the concept of showcasing good practice. The challenge of sustainability is a major one for an industry like quarrying, but the showcase demonstrates evidence of genuine action at grass roots level.’
Restoration
Among the operations receiving the accolades this year were two neighbouring quarries from a village in Kent. Both had competed side-by-side for the QPA’s premier restoration award, The Cooper-Heyman Cup. The trophy ultimately went to Canterbury-based Robert Brett & Sons, in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, for their work in creating Watermanship Lake, a new water-based military training facility at Lydd Ranges (see QM May 2004).
Watermanship Lake now forms part of a wider military training area used to hone the skills of British troops. In addition to the serious training, however, the lake is also available for recreational use by army youth teams, cadets from all three services and local community groups. Brett’s brief involved not just a specification for the creation of these facilities, but also some testing environmental requirements, as the site forms part of the Dungeness Site of Special Scientific Interest and is home to some internationally important shingle vegetation.
Hanson Aggregates, in partnership with the RSPB, received the runners-up prize — an Award with Special Merit — for the former Lydd Quarry, which has been transformed into an impressive nature reserve featuring freshwater lakes, islands and wetlands that offer several unique attractions for bird life. Popular with birdwatchers, the site now welcomes around 25,000 visitors through its gates every year.
Four other sites received awards in the restoration category: Lafarge Aggregates’ Harrycroft Quarry in Nottinghamshire for restoration to farmland, New Milton Sand & Ballast for the siting of a waste water treatment plant within a former quarry, Hanson Aggregates’ Hardbank Quarry in Cumbria for restoration to farmland, and Aggregate Industries’ Fledmyre Quarry, near Forfar, for land restored for nature.
Operational best practice
Among the other sites under the spotlight at this year’s event, Swinden Quarry, near Skipton, was showcased in the operational best practice category in recognition of Tarmac Northern’s efforts to create harmony with the local landscape by hiding the quarry operations from view. Around £16 million was spent moving the once prominent processing plant into the bowl of the quarry, re-landscaping the site and planting 10,000 trees. In addition, liaison with the local community helped Tarmac to decide upon a final restoration scheme for Swinden, which, when quarrying finishes in about 2020, will be turned into a nature reserve. The company are also making an annual payment into a trust fund so that the restored site can be maintained in perpetuity.
Similarly, Ingleton Quarry, on the Lancashire/North Yorkshire border, was showcased in recognition of Hanson Aggregates’ efforts to hide its operations from view. Until a few years ago the quarry was very much part of the local skyline, but following a £7 million replant in 1993, the site is now barely noticeable from the outside. As well as repositioning operations, Hanson created a new processing plant and spent £1 million on environmental improvements, including the planting of 27,000 trees, land-scaping and extensive dry-stone walling using Ingleton’s own stone.
Torr Works, near Shepton Mallet, was showcased in recognition of the efforts made by Foster Yeoman to implement a new water-management system. When plans were introduced for the quarry to be excavated below the winter water table, the company made a commitment to regularly monitor the flow of water in three nearby streams that could potentially have been affected. In addition, a sump within the quarry, which was used to store water, was replaced with a 425-megalitre reservoir external to the quarry. This was designed as an attractive lake with areas of reed bed within a parkland setting, which not only looks attractive, but also provides a much-needed wildlife habitat.
Holmescales Quarry, near Kendal, was showcased in recognition of the efforts made by Aggregate Industries to save a colony of newts. Until two years ago, each spring hundreds of great crested newts would migrate from a boggy area in an adjoining disused quarry and swarm into the working quarry. After a company-commissioned survey revealed the presence of some 323 of the amphibians, a state-of-the-art one-way exclusion fence was installed to prevent the newts from straying into the active site.
Mike Webb of environmental consultants SLR said Aggregate Industries had ‘gone the extra mile’ in their handling of this case. On completion of extraction, the company plan to restore the site to a mosaic of habitats that will increase habitat resources for this protected species. This is likely to provide opportunities for the great crested newt population to grow and increase its long-term viability.
Recognition for Aggregate Industries’ Little Paxton Quarry, near St Neots, came as a result of its work in welcoming sand martins as regular visitors. Appreciating the importance of managing the species, the site team worked closely with the RSPB to create a best-practice paper which has been widely circulated both within the company and beyond.
Lafarge Aggregates’ use of local waterways to deliver aggregates was another project to be showcased in this category. Fleets of barges are used to deliver material from Rampton Quarry, in Nottinghamshire, to Leeds, travelling via the Trent, Humber, Lower Ouse and the Aire and Calder Navigation. New handling facilities at Whitwood Wharf, in Wakefield, built at a cost of £2.3 million, mean that greater volumes can be moved in an efficient manner, thereby improving the supply chain. In addition, the development removes up to 25,000 lorry journeys a year from the region’s busy road network.
Community
Aggregate Industries’ Croy Quarry, in Lanarkshire, was showcased in the community category in recognition of the company’s work with the local community to develop a mutually agreed long-term restoration scheme. When it became apparent that the company and the local community were not in immediate agreement about the future of the quarry, a steering group was set up to reach a compromise. Working in partnership with Croy Community Council, a restoration plan was devised for the site that would be an asset for the locals. Plans for Croy Village Park were unveiled at a public exhibition and planning permission was subsequently approved for the site to become a lake with facilities for sport and recreation within a parkland setting.
Biodiversity and geodiversity
Hanson Aggregates’ Needingworth Quarry was showcased in the biodiversity and geodiversity category in recognition of the efforts made by the company, in partnership with the RSPB and Cambridgeshire County Council, to create the largest single area of reed bed in the UK. The site, near Huntingdon, is on the edge of the Fens, which were once a wetland wilderness that attracted legions of wildlife. However, over a period of 350 years from the mid-1600s, the farming industry drained vast areas of the Fens until just one third of one percent remained.
Plans for Needingworth therefore represent a much-needed change in direction. Rather than restoring the land to agriculture once quarrying is finished, Hanson have worked with the RSPB to swing the balance back towards wetland. In about 25 years’ time a 700ha nature reserve will be created, of which 460ha will be reed bed (an area equivalent to more than 430 football pitches).
Lafarge Aggregates’ Thrislington Quarry, near West Cornforth, was showcased in recognition of the efforts made by the company, in partnership with English Nature, to relocate turves of an extremely rare magnesian limestone grassland habitat from an area to be quarried to a protected plantation. Almost 5ha of grassland were translocated in this way to what is now Thrislington Plantation (a Site of Special Scientific Interest). In the longer term, Lafarge are looking to bring other neighbouring areas under the same conservation management regime, ultimately including the quarry itself.
Armstrong Quarry, near Worksop, another Lafarge Aggregates site, was showcased in recognition of the efforts made by the company, in partnership with conservation organization Plantlife, to secure the future survival of a rare variety of moss. Ecological work at the site revealed the presence of flamingo moss, which exists in only eight locations across the UK. The company are now sponsoring a three-year research project to achieve a better understanding of the ecology of flamingo moss in order to ensure that it is conserved for the future.
Messingham Nature Reserve in North Lincolnshire was showcased in recognition of the efforts made by WBB Minerals and their predecessors to create the reserve from a former quarry, and those of Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust who manage it on a daily basis. The 50ha reserve boasts a wide range of habitats ranging from grassland to heathland and marsh to reed bed, each of which is home to a wide variety of wildlife and all of which stems from a mixture of planned restoration and natural re-colonization.
Resource conservation
Attenborough Quarry, near Nottingham, was showcased in the resource conservation category in recognition of RMC Aggregates (Eastern) Ltd’s introduction of a comprehensive programme of energy management, including making greater use of natural light by fitting clear panels in buildings, and the replacement of halogen lighting with high-efficiency systems controlled by photo cells. Timers have also been applied to electric heating systems and pumps used within the quarry, resulting in an energy efficiency gain of 23%. RMC say Attenborough’s energy programme has been so successful that it is now being used as a prototype for energy-management improvements across the company.
Finally, a wind-powered pump installed by Lafarge Aggregates, in partnership with the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, at Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve, near Coventry, also received recognition. The pump was installed to provide a more sustainable way of supplying water to a reed bed created at the site after quarrying. As an added bonus, while the pump does its work for the reed beds at night, during the day it provides water for Lafarge’s nearby ready-mixed concrete plant.
