Featured Sites

Barham has been an active sand and gravel site since the early 1940s, with an asphalt plant and railhead introduced the late 1980s. In 1998 the first recycling operation within East Anglia was launched here, recycling demolition waste and asphalt products. Successful completion of trial mixes of concrete using Barham's recycled aggregates were carried out at Costessey Readymix Plant in Norwich during 1999. The site is managed by Ian Rumbellow.

The railhead supplies Type 1 granite, granite dust, mill scalpings, rockery stone, 28mm, 20mm, 14mm, 10mm, 6mm granite; and 4-10mm graded limestone.

The quarry produces sharp sand, soft sand, plastering sand, as-raised ballast, 40mm, 20mm, 10mm shingle, rejects, 20mm and 0mm ballast.

The recycling centre takes in brick, concrete and asphalt; and produces low grade soil and EnvirosandTM recycled glass sand in 0-4mm.

Besthorpe Sand & Gravel Quarry has been open since 1995 and produces 440,000 tonnes of material each year, including grit sand, 40/20mm, 20/5mm, 10mm, 6mm gravel, and 20mm ballast. The site, managed by David Cansfield, operates a barge loading facility that ships material north via the River Trent.

The site has an excellent wildlife credentials - the old site workings area is now a heronry wildlife reserve that attracts migrating birds and in 2008 had the first successful breeding pair of avocets in Nottinghamshire. Besthorpe came second out of 70 in the British Trust for Ornithology's Business Challenge for bird species in 2009. In addition to this, Besthorpe has also won the QPA Gold Award for environmental management in 2000 and 2001, the QPA excellence award for restoration of old workings and the QPA award for innovation 2007.

Besthorpe Quarry featured in the 2009 BBC1 documentary Rivers with Griff Rhys Jones.

Cotesbach Landfill site has been operating for over 25 years, progressively infilling and restoring the areas where sand and gravel have been quarried.

The site accepts municipal, commercial and industrial and construction and demolition waste and is permitted to accept cement bonded asbestos into a dedicated engineered mono-cell. The site has evolved to reflect a changing waste market and a number of recycling processes are now conducted in parallel to the main disposal operation. Cotesbach is one of the busiest landfill sites in Leicestershire and some 350,000 tonnes of waste pass through its gates every year for treatment or disposal. The site is managed by Graham Roberts.

Cotesbach creates its own renewable energy! As the waste degrades in the landfill it generates methane which is converted to electricity via four gas engines. Cotesbach currently generates approximately 4MW of ‘green' electricity, enough to power 4,000 homes.

The landfill is operated in a manner than is as sensitive to the environment as possible. The landfill industry is heavily regulated and the site is run within the requirements of an Environmental Permit to ensure that its operation and restoration are undertaken in a manner which is complementary to its ultimate use, for Cotesbach this is a return to agriculture.

A facility for treating 50,000 tonnes per annum of Leicestershire's ‘black bag' waste is currently under construction at the site. This £10m+ development will recover plastics, metals and other recyclables from the county's waste and produce a compost-like-output from the residues.

If you would like any further information on our activities or the types of waste we accept, please do not hesitate to contact the site on 01788 860649 or Graham Roberts on 07803 953911

Planning
A planning application approved in 2007 safeguards the long term future of the quarrying and landfilling operation as the site has permission to be extended over the next 30 years. Ambitious plans to develop further treatment capability on the site ensure that Cotesbach will remain a key waste management asset for Leicestershire.

Dowlow Quarry has been in operation since 1899 but has only been a major volume producer for the past 30 years. Located on extensive carboniferous limestone deposits at Sterndale Moor on the edge of the Derbyshire Peak District, three miles south-east of Buxton, the site is noted for its chemically very pure calcium carbonate, which is used in many industrial applications. The site is managed by Richard Scott.

Dry Rigg is a quarry in North Yorkshire that produces stone with exceptional skid-resistant properties. To find out more about this site please follow the link below to download our leaflet.

Granite House is the Head Office for Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK. Located on a modern business park, the office is within easy reach of neighbouring Leicester, Loughborough and Nottingham and has excellent access to major motorways and A roads.

Please note that some satellite navigation systems do not recognise the address; please call our switchboard to ensure you have correct directions.

Old Masham Pit Quarry was opened in 1950 by Whitakers but has been restored and is now Marfield Wetlands nature reserve, which is managed by Lafarge. The current workings opened in 1987.

This site, managed by Jon Merchant, produces 340,000 tonnes per annum of sand and gravel in 6mm, 10mm, 20mm and 40mm, concrete sand and 20/4mm gravel.

Mountsorrel Quarry has been a vital source of granite in England for more than 200 years. Its products are used all over the country in everything from houses and schools to railways and airport runways. The quarry also plays an important role in the village, contributing significantly to the local economy. It employs 100 people directly and more than twice that indirectly.

Current permitted mineral reserves at the site are likely to sustain the quarry for some 20 years at current output rates of about 4.5 million tonnes per annum. Approximately 70% of that output is delivered directly through the rail sidings at Barrow Upon Soar, and we are striving to maximise the rail delivery capacity as much as possible.

The planning permission for Mountsorrel Quarry is now under a formal review process with Leicestershire County Council. This process will update the schemes of working, operating controls and land management. The County Council will be carrying out formal consultation on the scheme with a wide range of stakeholders. The review process will consider the ongoing operations, and identify where changes are necessary and appropriate, resulting in a set of new planning conditions.

The review will safeguard the long-term working of this important source of granite for use as a construction material. We are also seeking to improve the energy efficiency of the quarry and make significant environmental enhancements right across the site which would benefit our neighbouring communities.

The quarry review process will also help to inform the potential for future development of the surrounding known mineral reserves at Mountsorrel. When those options have been investigated, potentially within the next couple of years, we will then be able to carry out further consultation, including the potential end uses for the quarry area and surrounding land.

Panshanger Park Quarry was opened for sand and gravel extraction in 1998 and is managed by Richard Allen. The quarry produces between 160,000 and 260,000 tonnes per annum of aggregates including 10mm, 20mm, 40mm, all in ballast, sharp sand, concrete sand and rejects.

The site, which has won local planning awards, is very much involved with English Heritage, the Forestry Commission and many local groups. The quarry is set in over 1,000 acres of Lafarge-owned parkland with a natural chalk stream running through it. On the land is the famous Panshanger Oak, an 800-year-old tree, which many people like to visit. If you are interested in visiting please call the area office on 01992 512 700 to organise a tour.

A number of school, community and planning visits take part each year. In 2008 the site held a safety day for the South East Quarry and Landfill Group attended by 120 visitors.

The site is being restored to high grade parkland/ farm land/ forestry with a plan for a number of footpaths and bridleway in the future. Land that has already been restored has been used to grow crops for Jordans cereals.

Shawell Quarry has been operating for approximately 50 years. Managed by Adrian Bunyard, the site produces 450,000 tonnes of material each year, including gravel in 10mm, 20mm and 20-5mm, washed concrete sand, washed soft sand, and 10mm and 20mm ballast.

Shawell is also home to a Readymix concrete plant and one of our main UK technical laboratories that works on product development and maintaining the high quality of our products.

The site has won various restoration and BACMI awards.

A planning application approved in 2007 safeguards the long term future of the quarrying and landfilling operation as the site has permission to be extended over the next 30 years.

Thrislington Quarry was opened in 1954 and extracts magnesian limestone (dolomite). The site has had several owners since then, including Steetley and Redland, but is now operated by Lafarge.

Thrislington is located on the magnesian limestone escarpment to the south of West Cornforth and east of Ferryhill and covers 112 hectares. The quarry plays an important role in mineral supply in County Durham and about a third of the magnesian limestone extracted is high grade limestone (known as industrial dolomite). This is processed in the kilns at the adjoining Works to produce burnt dolomite which is of considerable importance to the steel industry.

1.2 million tonnes of dolomite is extracted annually, and is used in the road making and building industries. 80% of this is used within a 30 mile radius of the quarry site. The site currently covers 9km of boundary and has reserves on 10.5 million tonnes. 10 hectares of limestone grassland, a fragile and endangered environment, were relocated using eco-engineering techniques at Thrislington.

Thrislington Quarry is managed by Steve Carter and produces MIDAS sand (for concrete), concrete aggregates, type 1, crusher run, cleans (75mm, 50mm, 40mm, 20mm, 10mm), yellow sand, Aglime and kiln feed. The balance of magnesian limestone extracted and some underlying permian sand is also available. Residues from the quarrying activities are blended with fines from the Works to form agricultural lime.

Planning
Lafarge is seeking planning permission to extend the life of the quarry beyond 2015 and to work an area east of the A1(M). The application was accompanied by an Environmental Statement (ES) and additional information and has been supplied to and consulted on by the planning authority. Lafarge is seeking to extract 29 million tonnes over 32 years from the extension site, which would involve building a 200-metre long tunnel under the A1(M). The planning application has not yet been determined by the planning authority (Durham County Council).

While Lafarge runs the quarry, Steetley Dolomite Ltd (SDL) operates the adjacent works which process the material, and is the only supplier of dolomite to the UK steel industry. SDL, which employs 42 people at Thrislington and has invested £5m in its works from 2003, has warned that its future is reliant on the application being approved.

Tyttenhanger has been running over 30 years, although it was mothballed for much of the 1990s. Phase 2 of Little Tyttenhanger is mainly filled with inert material from the old Wembley football ground.

The quarry, managed by Lawrence Cooper, produces between 350,000 and 600,000 tonnes of material each year, including 10mm, 20mm and graded gravel, concrete sand, building sand, AgiliaTM sand and ballast. To minimise the use of dump trucks the site uses 1.2 miles of conveyor line to transport material to the processing plant.

Tyttenhanger has developed a nature reserve which has regular mentions in bird watching circulars. In phase 1 of Little Tyttenhanger a 16th century kiln was un-earthed during extraction by archaeologists. Lafarge funded its £16,000 recovery.

The site holds a couple of school visits each year and works with the local community. Through the Landfill Communities Fund a number of improvements have been made to the local community such as a BMX track created in London Colney and block paving the Tyttenhanger community centre car park for better wheelchair access.

Planning
Tyttenhanger has secured 25 year extension that is awaiting 106 sign off.

Whitwell Quarry has been operational for over fifty years and supplies 1,500,000 tonnes per annum of high purity limestone to a kiln operation which is in turn supplies calcined products to the steel industry. The quarry is classed as a nationally important reserve. Whitwell also supplies high quality civil engineering products to the construction industry.

The quarry, managed by Shane Tompkin, leads the industry in close proximity blasting to sensitive structures. The next development phase will see the removal of an old colliery spoil tip that has been visible for many years. Whitwell has been awarded the QPA's Environmental Award Scheme: 5 Star Quarry.

The site is a major employer in the local area, and is linked to several other local businesses including the new precast factory being built in Steetley. The quarry continues to support the local school and community groups. Organised school trips around the site are always welcomed.

The site has an excellent relationship with nearby Cresswell Crags limestone gorge, an important archaeological site with a museum and visitor centre. Lafarge built a brand new access road to the Cresswell Crags and made a further substantial donation to support the construction of the visitors' centre, which was opened by Sir David Attenborough in June 2009. The public road improvements carried out as part of the future extensions will support Creswell Crags in its bid for world heritage status.