FAQs

A: Quarries produce aggregate that is used to build and maintain homes, schools, hospitals and roads. We all rely on this material and every one of us uses the equivalent of four tonnes of aggregate each year.

Craig-yr-Hesg provides high quality blue pennant sandstone, which is especially suitable for road resurfacing due to its very high skid-resistance.

In Wales, every Mineral Planning Authority, which is usually a county borough council, is required to have identified any mineral reserves as part of its Local Development Plan (LDP). The consented extension area at Craig-yr-Hesg quarry is located within a ‘preferred area of known mineral resources’, as identified by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council in its LDP.

Modern quarrying is a safe and highly regulated sector and our operations at Craig-yr-Hesg are governed by extensive planning and permitting conditions. These have been developed to minimise impact on the landscape, the environment and the community and we are subject to regular compliance reviews by the regulators.

A: Quarry blasting in the UK is highly regulated: it has well-defined limits on ground vibration, based on Peak Particle Velocity (PPV). Operating within these standards means that there is no risk of structural damage to nearby homes or buildings.

British Standard 7382: part 2 1993 underpins the stringent blasting regulations that we, like all operators, work to. This standard is informed by research that blast vibration values in excess of 50mm/s PPV would be necessary to cause structural damage to homes.

The permitted levels for Craig-yr-Hesg quarry allow blasts up to the regulatory limit of 6mm/s Peak Particle Velocity (PPV), at 95% confidence, and this reflects planning guidance in Wales.

We are also required to monitor blast vibration in line with a Blast Monitoring Scheme approved by RCTCBC, and the average PPV recorded for all blasts at Craig-yr-Hesg quarry since 2018 is below 3mm/s, well within the permitted levels.

A: The way in which a quarry blast is experienced can be shaped by a number of factors including geology, blast design, vibration, air pressure, frequency, distance from the blast quarry face and even the weather.

Air Overpressure (AOP) can be responsible for the noise associated with blasts – and it is often the movement of air that is ‘felt’, rather than vibration. Similarly, low clouds can exaggerate blast sound, while fissures in the rock can change the way vibration from a blast dissipates.

Research has indicated that people will generally become aware of blast induced vibration at around 1.5mm/s PPV. This means that people can be aware of a blast vibration even when associated vibration levels are low.

A: There is no limit on the number of HGV movements over a set timeframe at Craig-yr-Hesg. This means that there are no restrictions on daily HGV movements.

Like many quarries, our permissions are based on the volume of aggregate that may be transported – not the number of HGVs required to do so. This approach is to ensure quarry operators can service the fluctuating needs of the construction projects being supplied. However, to provide a guide, the site currently averages around 70 aggregates HGVs visits per day – the equivalent to 140 lorry movements – but numbers may be higher in busy periods.

A: The number of HGVs servicing Craig-yr-Hesg will remain in line with previous levels. This in in the region of 70 aggregates HGV visits – or 140 HGV movements – per day, Monday to Saturday.

Independent studies have reported that quarry related traffic on Berw Road only represents around 1.2 per cent of total traffic movements on Berw Road.

A: The potential air quality and dust effects from quarries are well understood and are already highly regulated and managed through strict controls, and living near a quarry does not put the local community at risk.

Extensive ongoing air quality monitoring around the quarry borders in Glyncoch is carried out by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council (to which we make a financial contribution) and shows full compliance with the regulations. Importantly, the data highlights that the air quality around the quarry is classed as good, with low levels of airborne inhalable particulate matter, known as PM10s and PM2.5s. Go to www.airquality.gov.wales/air-pollution/site/RHD7#siteinformation to view this publicly available information.

As part of our commitment to continual improvement, we have also invested in a number of dust suppression activities within the quarry, including cladding, foam systems and water sprays.

More information on our approach to air quality management can be found in our handout.

Details on air quality standards can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics/concentrations-of-particulate-matter-pm10-and-pm25#:~:text=The%20Air%20Quality%20Standards%20Regulations,exceeded%20at%20any%20monitoring%20station

A: The planning conditions at Craig-yr-Hesg require both a Species Protection and Habitat Management Plan and a Tree and Woodland Management Plan, approved by the local authority. These schemes have all been submitted and approved.

Many new trees have been planted on the main screen bund, and the eventual restoration of the site will result in an increase of woodland and improved habitat connectivity within the landscape.

Additionally, we have committed to allocating 15 per cent of all active quarry sites for space for nature by 2030. Our approach at Craig-yr-Hesg is guided by this and we work to enhance fauna and flora, including protecting and enhancing wildlife corridors, promoting natural woodland regeneration and natural regeneration of grassland.

Soils and overburden removed in the initial phases of extraction are stored for use throughout the progressive restoration which will see quarry faces in worked out areas restored to enhance the ecological and landscape value of the site.

A: Craig-yr-Hesg quarry extension permissions have not altered any formal rights of way around the quarry. In fact, as per our quarry extension proposals and the planning permissions received from RCTCBC, we have now created a permissive path which was previously being used unofficially by local people on Heidelberg Materials’ owned land.

This permissive path provides pedestrian access linking Glyncoch to the Lan Woods to the west. Our work to formally set out the route has included setting out path markers and restoring the dry-stone wall, as well as installing kissing gates at either end of the path. 

A: We are proud of the role we play providing vital construction materials, employing local people on site and in the supply chain, and contributing to local services via business rates and other taxes. We are also committed to developing stronger dialogue with the local community, so that the more positive benefits of our quarry on the local community can be realised.

We have been working with RCTCBC and other local stakeholders on establishing a community liaison group with an independent Chair, and we are pleased that this has now got off the ground. Minutes from recent meetings can be viewed here [link].

These regular meetings will help to facilitate dialogue and ensure that any issues can be raised and, if feasible, addressed in the early stages. It also allows a forum for deep dives on issues of importance to the community with sessions on air quality management, public health and blasting scheduled. Local residents wishing to suggest issues for future discussion at the liaison group can email us at craigyrhesgquarry@uk.heidelbergmaterials.com

Residents with queries about our operations or wanting to provide feedback can contact us via our free phone information line: 0800 160 1317 or email us at: craigyrhesgquarry@uk.heidelbergmaterials.com