Our proposals for a temporary haul road between Brinsham West quarry and Southfields quarry have been developed to minimise disruption on local roads and reduce impact for residents and on the environment.
The scheme would replace the already approved construction of a permanent tunnel under the B4060 Wickwar Road to facilitate the haulage of crushed rock for further processing elsewhere in our Chipping Sodbury quarry complex. It would also remove the need to create a new road junction from Brinsham West onto the busy Wickwar Road.
A lot has changed since permission for a tunnel was granted back in 2011, not least the country’s drive towards net zero carbon emissions as well as Heidelberg Materials’ own commitment to reducing its carbon emissions and promoting materials’ circularity. That’s why we instigated a new approach, with proposals that make economic sense as well as providing environmental, community and efficiency advantages.
Reducing impact on our near neighbours
The proposed temporary haul road scheme would reduce the need for multiple layers of material handling. This would provide operational efficiencies allowing us to significantly cut operating hours at Brinsham quarry once the site is up and running. This will help to minimise the impact on our near neighbours.
Importantly, it would also mean that a primary crusher, permitted as part of the already approved scheme, would no longer be needed. This would help to further mitigate the impact of quarrying on nearby residents.
Reduced footprint
The proposed temporary haul road scheme would see a reduction in the distance haul trucks will need to travel – equivalent to almost 150,000km over Brinsham West’s operational period – contributing to the substantial reductions in carbon emissions. And, after mineral extraction is complete, the haul road would be removed, the materials used to construct it would be recycled/reused, and the landscape restored.
The reduced operational impact of Brinsham West quarry if material transported by temporary haul road rather than conveyor
Updated proposals
Our approach has always been to develop a plan to transport quarried material in the most sustainable and efficient way.
We first shared our proposals for a temporary haul road in 2021, ahead of making a submission to South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) in 2022. While SGC has yet to determine this initial application, after listening to local people and considering feedback from statutory consultees we’ve refined the intial scheme. Our final proposals include the following principal changes:
Adapting the temporary haul road’s design so that it is now single lane only with two passing places. This will reduce its footprint and minimise impacts.
Adjusting the route to both avoid an Ash tree and to better align with the land’s natural gradient.
Adaptations to the proposed design of landforms, screen bunding and planting to better reflect the existing landscape character and to help retain views. The intent is that the haul road and vehicular movement will be mostly screened by siting it at a lower level – akin to a traditional hollow way.
Increased retention of hedgerows and revisions to restoration plans that would see the landscape reinstated, with the regrading of the hollow way to the land’s original profile.
What remains the same about our proposal is that a temporary haul road would provide substantive operational efficiencies over and above the already consented tunnel. This would see a significant reduction in onsite operational hours as well as removing the need for a primary crusher in Brinsham West. This approach reflects our commitment not only to cut carbon emmisisons, but to work with our host communities and be the best neighbour we can be.
October 2024: Revised plans
We have recently submitted our revised proposals for the construction of a temporary haul road to link Southfields quarry and Brinsham West to South Gloucestershire Council (SGC). Once it has validated our revised application, SGC council will carry out further public consultation ahead of making its decision.
We believe our revised scheme would not only deliver a more efficient operation, but will reduce associated impacts on our host community as well as providing a fully restored and enhanced landscape following mineral extraction at Brinsham West quarry.
Our revised application sets out that the haul road would be operational in daylight hours. Overall, the operational efficiencies delivered via the use of the haul road would allow us adapt our operating hours as follows:
1. Hours of operation from Monday – Friday
We are proposing that weekday quarrying operations for Brinsham West will be adapted to 07.00 – 17.00 rather than 07.00 – 19.00 as permitted.
2. Hours of operation - weekend working
Weekend quarrying activity on Saturdays at Brinsham West quarry would be limited to just 12 weekends a year, whereas the current permissions allow for every weekend.
The hours of operation on ‘active’ Saturdays would be between 07.00 – 12.00 rather than 07.00 – 16.00 as permitted in the existing permissions. This will include use of the haul road on these active Saturdays.
There would be no quarry working at all on Public Holidays, including Bank Holiday weekends, except in an emergency.
NB: The above excludes activities related to water pumping, plant and site maintenance and environmental monitoring/testing as well as any emergency related works.
In summary, these proposed adaptations would represent a reduction of 888 hours per year at Brinsham West in comparison with the currently permitted levels:
Days of the week
Current permitted hours
Proposed adaptations
Reduction in hours of operation per day
Reduction in operational hours per week
Equivalent annual reduction in hours
Monday to Friday
07.00 – 19.00
07.00 - 17.00
2
10 (across 52 weeks)
520
Saturday (for 12 weeks of the year only)
07.00 -16.00
07.00 – 12.00
4
4 (across 12 weeks)
48
Saturday (for remaining 40 weeks of the year)
07.00 - 16.00
No working
8
8 (across 40 weeks)
320
Sunday/Bank Holidays (except for emergencies)
None
No changes proposed
n/a
n/a
n/a
Chart highlighting significant reduction in operational hours proposed
No. There will be no associated lighting along the haul road, apart from the traffic signals where it crosses Gravel Hill Road and Brinsham Lane. This will help to ensure that impact on wildlife is limited.
The temporary haul road would allow extracted aggregate to be transported straight to the exisiting primary crusher in Southfields quarry. This means that no processing activity is needed in Brinsham West first. In contrast, the current consented plans, with a tunnel conveyor under Wickwar Road, would require the material to go though primary crushing within Brinsham West. This is because the conveyor system is only able to handle rock that has already been through the first stage of processing.
The knock-on effect of this is not only a considerable amount of double (or quadrouple) handling of material and the creation of surge piles of material ahead of being loaded onto the conveyor, it will also see trucks having to travel 60 per cent further than with the temporary haul road (see diagram below).
Diagram comparing the infrastructure and plant needed for the already approved tunnel scheme with our proposals for a tempoarary haul road
Our proposals have been shaped by the need to protect and enhance wildlife habitats. To mitigate for the loss of deciduous woodland we are proposing to enhance the existing woodland areas around the site, while to compensate for the temporary loss of wetland woodland, we have identified an area next to Ladden Brook within our existing landholding to be enhanced. There will also be extensive new hedgerow planting as well as native trees and shrub planting.
We acknowledge that our Habitat Management Plan 2015-2025 will need to be reviewed and updated to reflect current conditions and our proposals.
There are some trees within the TPO areas on our landholding that sadly do have ADB. They will be dealt with appropriately, which, in some instances, will include felling.
When considering an application for the removal of trees with a TPO, the Forestry Commission (FC) will advise the local authority – SGC in this case – and if no comment, representation or objection is made, the FC will approve the licence.
As no objections from SGC were raised, this means that an FC licence is sufficient authority for us to fell trees under a TPO.
The route the haul road will now follow will reflect a hollow way – effectively a cutting that is lower than the land on either side of it, traditionally caused by erosion over time. This will provide a high degree of natural screening as the haul road will sit lower than the surrounding land.
Existing vegetation will be retained and protected as far as possible, plus a new stone retaining wall along part of the hollow way will be built with local stone. Not only will this reflect the landscape heritage of the area, it will also help to minimise the need to reprofile the banks on either side of the road.
Image depicting the tempoarary haul road looking west
Our proposals also include the creation of a screening bund landform along the southeastern edge of the site – though the revised siting of the haul road in a cutting means that this is greatly reduced from our previous plans.
Further screening will be provided through planting. This includes the reseeding of any modified landforms, new native scrub planting along the screening bund, plus native species-rich hedgerow infill planting to ensure any loss during construction is replaced.
Cross section showing how the temporary haul road will be sited in a hollow way. (view northwards towards Brinsham Lane)
Cross section showing how the temporary haul road will be screened (view southwards towards Gravel Hill Road)
A detailed drainage strategy accompanied the earlier (2022) iteration of our proposals and these best practice approaches – in line with the latest Government guidance on Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) – remain applicable to our revised design.
On-site drainage would be designed so that capacity would prevent flooding, even in the event of a 1 in 40-year storm event, as well as being able to handle flood waters generated as a result of a 1 in 100-year storm occurring and any possible impacts of climate change. The fundamental principle is that site drainage capacity would be sufficient not to cause any possible negative knock-on effects on buildings, essential services or adjoining developments.
We are committed to assisting where we can with localised flooding-related issues, including via the use of our pumping regime, if needed, to control and attenuate water on site during possible extreme flood events.
After the removal of the temporary haul road (with materials being retained for recycling/reuse to promote materials‘ circularity) the hollow way will be regraded to its current profile.
The traditionally built stone wall will be retained as it will become an established habitat by this phase. Mature established vegetation planted for screening purposes will be moved to reinstate gaps in the hedgerows created by the removal of the haul road and further planting will take place on the modified landform areas.
The diagrams below show how the landscape will look during the operational phase and after restoration has been completed:
Diagram highlighting the landscape strategy during Brinsham West operational phases
Diagram highlighting the landscape strategy after restoration
