About the site
Cemex received planning consent for the existing operations at Pyford Brook Quarry in 2020 and started operating in August 2022. The existing site covers approximately 32 hectares of land located to the west of Alrewas and east of King’s Bromley. The consent was for the extraction of sand and gravel over a five-year period with a specific purpose of supplying materials to HS2.
Tarmac and Cemex will be bringing forward an application to ensure there remains a consistent supply of sand and gravel within Staffordshire to supply construction materials to wider construction market, including local customers, as well as to maintain a range of important fixed outlets such as ready mixed concrete plants and precast concrete block works.
Staffordshire County Council’s Mineral Local Plan (2015 – 2030) identified an Area of Search to the west of the A38. The site is located within this area.
Policies within the Mineral Local Plan indicate that for proposals for mineral extraction in the west of the A38 Area of Search could be supported, if sand and gravel reserves east of the A38 are exhausted, and if certain other tests and conditions defined in the Minerals Local Plan are met.
The site (which includes Cemex’s existing site known as Pyford Brook Quarry) benefits from well-defined boundaries, including the A513 to the north and east; Hey End Lane to the west; and the Trent and Mersey Canal to the south. We would undertake advanced planting supplementing existing well established perimeter habitats to further limit views into the site.
Most extraction would be undertaken using a dredger meaning that the mineral is extracted underwater and pumped to the processing site – reducing the visual impact, and the potential for noise and dust.
Whilst our proposed site covers approximately 138 hectares, our sand and gravel quarries are extracted and restored in phases, minimising the amount of land in use at any one time. Of the 138 hectare site, around 98 hectares could be subject to sand and gravel extraction, although the extraction boundaries are subject to change. Such a large area is proposed to source the volumes of sand and gravel needed to maintain continuity of supply to the market as required under planning policy.
The tonnages and rates of activity are under consideration, but at this time it is anticipated that the application will propose an extraction rate of the order of 900,000 tonnes per annum.
Restoration
Planting, managing and restoring areas around our sites gives us the opportunity to create a diverse environment that positively contributed to the local ecology and biodiversity. We are in the early stages of preparing an application, however, you can find a summary of the initial restoration proposals below:
- We are proposing to restore the site to a series of large-scale open water bodies and would welcome local views on what form this might take so we create a valued local amenity.
- As well as the water bodies, the restoration scheme would seek to return areas of land to agriculture use and provide the establishment of a range of nature conservation habitats consistent with the site setting.
- We are committed to responsible land management and environmental stewardship and will develop schemes of restoration and aftercare put in place by Cemex for the current site to ensure continued successful establishment and management of the restoration landform.
Tarmac and Cemex will be seeking the views of the local community about how the site could be restored and how the resultant water bodies could be used for community benefit.
