Chalk quarry unveils expansion plans

Plans to expand a Lincolnshire chalk quarry have been announced.

Welton Aggregates Ltd has submitted an application to the county council for its Highfield Quarry near Spilsby, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The site produces a range of construction aggregates and agricultural lime and has permission for mining until 2042.

The company hopes to extend by four-hectares into agricultural land located immediately north-west of the quarry, citing the “depletion of the permitted reserves and the absence of any long-term alternative sources”.

In its planning statement, the firm explained: “In order to secure the future of the quarry the applicant is seeking planning permission to extend the quarry into adjacent agricultural land, releasing approximately 950,000 tonnes of saleable chalk which will be worked as an extension to the existing quarry."

It said the extended site would use the existing quarry infrastructure and would be worked and restored over a period of eight years.

Extraction would take place at the same rate as the existing quarry so the development would not cause an increase in traffic movements, it added.

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