Our Whatley and Westdown quarries form the heart of our operations in the East Mendips.
Limestone extraction in the East Mendips has a long history. From Georgian crescents in Bath, to projects such as Hinkley Point C power station and HS2, it has helped to build our world.
Limestone extraction in the East Mendips has a long history. From Georgian crescents in Bath, to projects such as Hinkley Point C power station and HS2, it has helped to build our world.
Today, limestone in the East Mendips is considered a nationally significant aggregate resource and is used to make ready-mixed concrete and precast concrete products, as well as asphalt for use in highways.
At Heidelberg Materials we are committed to being a good neighbour and to playing an active part in the communities in which we operate. We currently employ over 60 people at our Whately quarry, plus many more in our supply chain of contractors and support staff. We actively support local initiatives and programmes and regularly host school and college visits.
Our operations can be viewed at a public viewing platform overlooking the quarry. Go to grid reference: 51.231433, -2.401429
Whatley quarry has been operating since the 1930s and supplies crushed limestone aggregate to local markets by road and to depots in London and South East England via its dedicated rail link.
Situated between the villages of Mells and Chantry, four miles west of Frome, Whatley is Heidelberg Materials’s biggest quarry, producing around six million tonnes of aggregate a year. There is also an on-site plant for making asphalt and ready-mixed concrete. The site extends to 173 hectares, of which 120 hectares comprise the limestone extraction site, with limestone reserves of around 100 million tonnes.
The quarry has been included as a research site in our parent company Heidleberg Materials’ Quarry Life Awards, aimed at supporting and increasing biodiversity at mineral extraction sites.
Blasting usually takes place on Tuesdays, Thursday’s and Friday’s and we plan operations so that, wherever feasible, blasting is scheduled for 12.15.
Local residents can sign up to receive our free blast notification text messages, which include a weekly update setting out planned blast times for the week ahead, plus a follow-up notification approximately half an hour before each blast takes place. To receive the free notifications email us at: whatley.quarry@uk.heidelbergmaterials.com
To find out more about activity at Whatley see recent issues of our regular Community Update newsletter.
To the west of Nunney, there is evidence of quarrying going back 500 years. Westdown quarry itself is thought to have started operations in the 1940s – supplying aggregate to support post-war reconstruction. By the 1970s, operations expanded to combine with Asham quarry next door and included a concrete and asphalt plant.
Although no activity has taken place since the 1980s, planning permissions for Westdown quarry remain in place until 2042. Our application to update existing planning consents at Westdown was initially submitted to Somerset Council (SC), formerly Somerset County Council, in 2021, following local pre-application consultation. Amended proposals were submitted to SC in October 2023. Subject to approvals, we would aim to start work preparing the site later this year, with extraction operations resuming in 2025.
More information on our future plans for Whatley and Westdown quarries is available on this page.
Contact usYou are welcome to contact us with any questions you may have about our operations.
Vince Pitt
Area General Manager
Mendips & Masters / Aggregates
You can reach us at: whatley.quarry@uk.heidelbergmaterials.com or Tel: 0800 644 4234
Operations and blastingTo sign up to receive our free blasting notification texts please email us at: whatley.quarry@uk.heidelbergmaterials.com and include your address and the mobile phone number on which you would like to receive these texts.
Our mineral bank at Whatley quarry in the East Mendips is depleting and it’s becoming more challenging to extract the remaining reserves. At the same time, demand for limestone to build and maintain our homes, hospitals, schools and roads – as well as for use in the construction infrastructure projects that will support the transition to a low carbon future – continues to grow.
That’s why we are seeking to reopen nearby Westdown quarry. Westdown has the benefit of planning permission for mineral extraction until 2042 but the quarry has not been operational since the 1980s.
Answers to the questions that are most frequently put to the Whatley and Westdown team about our current operations and future plans.
View documentation relating to the quarry application to update existing planning consent for both Whatley and Westdown quarries.
We are supporting the next generation of engineers through a new partnership with Somerset Studio School, Radstock (part of the MNSP Trust) and the Somerset Earth Science Centre.
We would like to alert local walkers that parts of the riverbank along the Egford Brook (also known as the Nunney Brook) are eroding, causing the path to become unstable in places.
The newly renovated children’s playground in Nunney, Frome, has officially opened, offering a fantastic space for local families and children to enjoy.
We’ve made some upgrades to the popular Whatley loop around the quarry, improving access for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
Tired tennis courts in Mells, Somerset have been resurfaced just in time for the school summer holidays, thanks to the generous support of our Whatley quarry and Heidelberg Materials Contracting.
We were delighted to support this year’s Frome Children’s Festival, organised by Purple Elephant, a local charity that provides vital support services for children and families. At Whatley quarry, we’re committed to supporting initiatives that develop education, skills and wellbeing. The Frome Children’s Festival is a free to attend event that aims to support social inclusion and integration, and to develop a strong and supportive town-wide community.
A team from our Whatley quarry in Frome, Somerset, successfully completed the Three Peaks Challenge within 24 hours, climbing the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales in memory of their late colleague.
We are seeking to broaden the local membership of our liaison group, which meets quarterly to discuss our operations and future thinking. If you represent a local group and would it like it to be considered for membership, please email us at: whatley.quarry@uk.heidelbergmaterials.com.
Minutes from previous meetings can be viewed below.
As a responsible operator and an integral part of the East Mendips community, we want to play our part in supporting communities near our quarries as well as protecting and enhancing the local environment.
We carry out a broad range of regular community support initiatives including our road sweeper visits to Chantry, Mells and Whatley, our litter picking teams who ensure the verges and roads close to our sites are kept litter free, and the collection and removal of fly-tipped rubbish around the Westdown and Asham wood sites.
In addition, local charities and community groups have benefitted from our community assistance programme. This has involved materials, financial donations as well as volunteer input as part of our annual programme of employee volunteering days.
Our approach is to prioritise support for initiatives supporting:
Assistance is prioritised to groups making applications from within the BA11 postcode, particularly those based within a 3km radius of our Westdown and Whatley quarries. To make an application for funding, material donation and/or volunteer support please tell us about your group and/or project, what type of support you are seeking and how your project’s aims dovetail with our support initiative goals set out above. Please complete the form found here .
Recent beneficiaries of our local support programme include:
Working at Heidelberg Materials is about being part of One Team.
We also provide opportunities for careers in the mineral products industry through various apprenticeship programmes, for example mobile plant operators, fitters, electricians and engineering technicians.
In addition, our higher-apprenticeship Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) programme for school leavers offers the first steps towards a varied career as well as the opportunity to secure valuable qualifications – earning while learning. Similarly, our graduate programme for specialists in engineering, geology, marketing or a STEM related discipline, offers a structured two-year programme based in a variety of locations across the UK.
For more on the range of opportunities at Heidelberg Materials visit our careers website.
Our graduate management training programme and higher apprenticeship scheme provide the opportunity to embark on an exciting and rewarding career in the construction industry.
Our structured graduate management programme aims to develop the future leaders of our business by providing skills training in specific business lines and awareness of other areas across the company.
Our three-year higher apprenticeships allow you to earn while you learn and develop supervisor skills in a hand-on environment.
To find out more and apply visit our careers website and select the scheme you're interested in from the menu.
