A new granite quarry for Ronez in Guernsey is on track for opening after being given the green light from politicians.
Ronez, one of the UK’s major aggregates suppliers, has previously voiced that its Les Vardes quarry site is close to exhaustion.
The Les Vardes site has been operational since 1961.
The new granite quarry site is nine acres and was approved in 2022 with a series of conditions from the Development and Planning Authority.
These include blasting days and times, number of machines needed to trap dust, and methods to reduce visual and noise impacts.
Ronez director Steve Roussel told the BBC that the quarry could be working on stone by the end of this year if everything, including the background work, went to plan.
The new site is expected to open in 2024.
WIDER CONTEXT
The English approval comes at a time when the Australian and New Zealand quarrying industry.
Earlier this year, the New Zealand quarrying conference with industry leaders across Australia, Europe, North America, Central America, South America and Asia put quarry approvals on the agenda.
“They face the same issues as New Zealand quarries – getting quarries consented, dealing with neighbours, meeting increasing sustainability requirements – and achieving recognition when many exceed those requirements,” AQA chief executive Wayne Scott said.
“We all also face the realities of climate change. One consequence of more frequent, more savage floods and rising sea levels is that people need ready access to quarry materials to rebuild and make their homes and roads more resilient.”
“You can’t get those materials if you face years of delay to get a new quarry consented or an existing one approved.”
The Victorian regulator delivered new data which revealed the state of play on approvals and expansions.
The Earth Resources Regulator confirmed 10 new quarries were approved across 2022-23, which was lower than the 15 approvals in the 2021-22 period but increased from 2020-21.