Wrexham quarry set to be used to recycle thousands of tonnes of old road surfaces

Liam Randall, local democracy reporter

A Wrexham quarry looks set to be used to recycle up to 75,000 tonnes of old road surfaces per year after plans were recommended to go ahead.

Construction materials company Breedon is behind proposals to use part of Borras Quarry in Llan y Pwll to store asphalt.

The quarry has been used to extract sand and gravel since the early 1970s and is also home to asphalt and concrete block production plants.

The firm now wants to use an 1.3 hectare area of the site to store material dug up as part of road maintenance and construction projects in Wrexham and Flintshire.

The application also seeks permission to hold up to 5,000 tonnes of pre-coated chippings, which are used to increase the skid resistance and durability of road surfaces.

The scheme has been recommended for approval by a senior official from Wrexham Council ahead of a planning committee meeting next week.

In a letter to the local authority, agents acting on the company’s behalf said: “Breedon Trading Limited are proposing to import, process and store road planings and to import and store pre-coated chippings at Borras Quarry.

“The proposed development enables the recycling and reuse of road planings as high quality aggregate for use in road and construction projects.

“The proposed development area within an existing quarry is well screened and not subject to environmental designations.

“It is concluded that the proposed operations are unlikely to generate significant adverse effects in terms of landscape character and visibility, traffic network and traffic movements, cultural heritage, ecology, surface water drainage or noise and amenity.”

Once processed the recycled material would either be taken to the Breedon asphalt plant in Llay, which is located approximately five miles away, or sold directly from site.

No objections have been raised against the proposals by statutory bodies.

However, concerns have been voiced by three nearby residents over the potential for extra noise, traffic and dust from the site.

In their representations, they said: “The proposed location probably has the highest concentration of residential homes in close proximity to the quarry and will therefore potentially will have the greatest impact.

“The proposal will significantly increase the flow of HGV traffic into the quarry.

“I am concerned about the increase in dust and noise pollution as a result of this increased activity and would like some assurance about the measures being taken to mitigate and minimise this impact.”

‘Traffic generation’

Despite their reservations, the council’s chief planning officer said he was satisfied with the arrangements in place.

In a report to councillors, Lawrence Isted said: “The proposal will introduce a different use to the approved quarry land, but this use is closely related to the approved quarry use, as road construction takes place within the quarry itself as part of the on-going operations.

“Public protection raise no objections to the application subject to a conditions in respect of noise and dust management.

“The traffic movements are well within the historic traffic movements associated with the site.

“It is therefore assumed that the proposed development will not result in any significant increase in vehicle movements at the site compared with previously accepted anticipated traffic generation.”

The proposals will be considered by planning committee members at a meeting on Monday (January 10, 2022).