Leitrim quarry granted planning permission for 25 year expansion and facilities

Conditional planning permission has been granted for a quarry in North Leitrim to expand its operations over the next 25 years, including the construction of new facilities and the restoration of the site.

David K Trotter and Sons Ltd, based in Nure townland, Lurganboy, applied to Leitrim County Council in December for permission to continue quarrying operations and to construct two new buildings. 

The application proposed the continued use of the existing 3.4-hectare operational quarry and the recommencement of extraction across 3.9 hectares of land previously approved but only partially worked, to a specified final depth.

The development also includes the recommencement of use of 2.9 hectares of historic quarry floor for stockpiling purposes, as well as the continuation of existing buildings and yard areas used for pre-cast concrete manufacturing, concrete batching, and machinery storage.

Two new buildings were proposed as part of the development: a 1,592 m² shed to enclose pre-stressed beds and provide storage facilities, and a smaller 82 m² building to accommodate equipment storage, a compressor house, and an electrical substation located adjacent to the ready-mix concrete plant.

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The planning application also sought permission to import approximately 70,000 m³ (125,000 tonnes) of clean, uncontaminated soil to construct a screening berm to the south of the extraction area and to assist with the restoration of parts of the quarry following the completion of extraction.

The overall application area extends to approximately 20 hectares with operations planned for 25 years and an additional two years for final site restoration. 

Planning permission was granted by the Council on February 11, subject to 17 conditions. These include restrictions on operating hours, with quarry activities permitted only between 7:30am and 7pm from Monday to Friday and between 7.30am and 2pm on Saturdays. No operations are permitted outside these hours, or on Sundays or public holidays.

Additional conditions require that prior to the firing of any blast, the developer must notify the occupiers of all dwellings within 500 metres of the site. 

An audible alarm must also be sounded for a minimum of one minute before blasting takes place. 

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The operator is further required to clean any spillages on public roads and, during dry weather, to spray roads that become dusty as a result of quarry activities and associated haulage.