To help meet the ongoing demand for its natural slate construction, architectural and hard landscaping products, Welsh Slate has applied to extend its largest quarry.
The company, part of the Breedon Group, is asking Gwynedd Council for a 2.3-hectare extension to its 318-hectare Penrhyn Quarry site in Bethesda near Bangor where its popular roofing slates and architectural products such as cladding, flooring, paving, walling and hard landscaping products are produced.
Although the application site is 2.3 hectares only 1.6 hectares would be quarried but this would increase the amount of slate permitted to be quarried by 250,000 tonnes or 3.6 million tonnes overall. It would also increase the life of Penrhyn Quarry by 12 years, from the end of 2023 to the end of 2035.
Amendments to the original planning application following a period of public consultation include halving the area of the proposed extension (from 4.3 hectares) and reassessing the need to dispose of slate waste as the site will generate less waste and the reduced amount of waste can be accommodated within the existing quarry void without impacting on views beyond the quarry.
Welsh Slate’s plans for Penrhyn will help secure the jobs of more than 100 people.
The company will also be applying to extend operations by four to five years at its site in Blaenau Ffestiniog, which produces minerals for manufacturers of such products as roofing felt. This would secure the jobs of eight people.
>>Read more about Welsh Slate here.
