Green light for Dalwhinnie quarry work

A quarry operator has said that measures are in place to allay concerns that their excavation plans could lead to a surge in speeding lorries in a Badenoch village.

Leiths (Scotland) has been given the green light by the Cairngorms National Park Authority’s planning committee to recommence operations at the site at Carn Dhomhnuill Bhain on the doorstep of Dalwhinnie.

The company has said that it is not contingent on winning a contract to supply aggregate to the dualling of the A9 but that the produce will be used for housebuilding and other local construction projects.

The firm was granted temporary permission for 35 years at the CNPA’s latest planning committee meeting at Boat of Garten Community Hall.

Production will be stepped up dramatically at the quarry around one mile north of Dalwhinnie by the A889.

It was previously in operation up to 2016.

But now Leiths has permission to extend the site from two to 15 hectares. Proposed extraction rates are to be a maximum of 70,000 tonnes per annum to a maximum of 2.5 million tonnes over the 35 year lifetime of the permission.

At the time the application was lodged fears were expressed about road safety in Dalwhinnie with the number of big heavy lorries travelling through the village centre increasing significantly.

Representation was made on the point in writing to the planning authority but no-one spoke out against the plans to expand the quarry considerably at Friday’s meeting.

Speaking after the go-ahead Colin Ortlepp, Leiths planning and development manager told the Strathy: "We are delighted with the decision.

"We have our own fleet of vehicles and they are all fitted with trackers so we can identify anyone who is allegedly speeding if someone makes a complaint we can track them down and find out if that’s the case.

"But our drivers are competent professionals and we have no real risks or concerns there."

Mr Ortlepp said that there would be 24 lorry movements per day but not all of these would be through Dalwhinnie itself as some traffic would likely head west towards Spean Bridge and other lorries north in the Crubenmore direction.

He said the material would be used for many purposes and was not dependent just on Leiths winning a contract for A9 dualling from Transport Scotland. No date has been given for this announcement.

Mr Ortlepp said: "This is principally to provide aggregate for the local area such as for housing, road and estate developments and anyone else who needs aggregates,

"It is not contingent but Carn Dhomhnuill Bhain is well placed to supply the A9."

Planning officers had recommended approval subject to a string of conditions.

Committee member Dave Fallows had queried the scope of ground nesting bird survey to be under taken for within 100 metres of the blast site.

He remarked: "Is 100 metres really enough because the blasting is one hell of a bang?"

Matthew Hawkins, the CNPA’s landscapes and ecology manager, said the advice they had received was that the zone was quite sufficient.

Fellow committee member Janet Hunter asked: "Is 35 years the normal length of time for quarrying? It seems like a long time."

Ed Swales, the CNPA’s monitoring and enforcement officer, said that it was an acceptable time-frame.

Dalwhinnie Distillery and the closest homes are around 800 metres from the distillery.

Highland Council’s environmental health department and Dalwhinnie Community Council will have to be notified of any pre-planned blasting no later than seven days prior to the blast occurring with full confirmation to nearby properties containing further details including a maximum five-hour window for blasting no later than 24 hours prior to any blast.

The quarry will be in-filled with water at the end of its life. It will have to have shallow margins and an island.

The background planning papers which run to several hundred pages can be found at www.cairngorm.co.uk