Stone Miles and Sustainable Quarrying
The Grim Reaper
No. 17 in a never-ending series. Winter 1996
Following recent apoplectic outbursts by green extremists I thought it long overdue for the grim reaper to find out the truth about quarrying in our backyard.
Aware as I am of the greens' penchant for derailing trains near quarries I took the car and drove south to visit my old friend and spokesman for Whatley Quarry David Weekes (tel. 01373 463211).
Listening to the rantings of the ecowarriors one would have expected the Mendips to be levelled, but I distinctly recall having to change down a gear to reach the quarry. David's green credentials shone like a beacon in the fog. He pointed out that 3/4 of their stone leaves the quarry by rail protecting local villages from damaging lorries. He was only too aware of the risk to Bath's famous hot water supplies by quarrying below the aquifer. However the quarry company has most generously paid for a couple of boreholes around the city to monitor the flow. Should they detect any cessation in the water supply they will blow whistles or bang gongs or some such thing in an attempt to solve the problem. Can't be more reasonable than that, I should say.
In fact Whatley is bending over backwards to be reasonable. They've reduced the proposed increase in the area to be quarried from 53 hectares to 35. That's a reduction equivalent to about 30 football pitches. And David assured me that only about 40% of their rock goes on road building and maintenance.
Having checked my shares in parent company Hanson, I took my leave and drove to my next destination, Durnford Quarry, in lovely Ashton Court Park. Durnford quarry is so hard to find, I'm surprised that the eco freaks are concerned about it. True, it has recently been given the go-ahead to nearly double in size, but it is not in a part of the park where families would wish to wander.
Manager Richard Tyler assured me that care was being taken to preserve the mountain bike paths. In fact the quarry is seriously cycle friendly, having supplied the hard core for the Bath to Bristol cycle path, a fact Richard is very proud of.
Richard reassured that me that despite removing one million tonnes of the Park each year, there will be plenty of green space left to enjoy. Moreover the quarry is most generously financially assisting the cash strapped estate to clear scrub and reinstate footpaths around a magnificent copse nearby. Clearly Durnford Quarry is very committed to preserving the environment. In a bid to reduce stone miles the company is building local links to ensure its stone is used as locally as possible, thus minimising wasteful and damaging long distance transport.
You'll find the quarry's high quality products in the Spine Road, the Second Severn Crossing, the Avonmouth 'relief' road, the Avon Ring Road, the M5 widening of the Avon Bridge, the new M49/M4 junction, the new Weston-super-Mare M5 link road, Cribbs Causeway, the Showcase cinema, Bradley Stoke, Emersons Green, and the MOD at Abbey Wood.
I now realise that without this vital industry on our doorstep, none of what I most enjoy about Bristol would be possible, nor would the roads be there for me to enjoy the surrounding countryside.
Happy Xmas - The Grim Reaper.
