Case Study // Reston Quarry
Planning Application and Environmental Impact Assessment
This quarry is located in the eastern part of the County of Berwickshire
in the Scottish Borders.
After 20 years of operating as a sand and gravel quarry a planning application
was prepared and submitted for an extension to the quarry to extract a further
1 million tonnes of sand and gravel above and below the water table over
20 years.
Prior to submitting the planning application extensive studies were carried
out covering hydrogeology and stability assessments as the extraction area
bounded onto the East Coast railway line.
Forming part of the planning application was the preparation of an environmental
impact assessment which covered such areas as landscape, ecology, traffic,
noise and dust. A detailed restoration and aftercare scheme was prepared
including the restoration of the present quarry area creating water features
to enhance the habitat of the area, woodland planting and the creation of
meadows providing added value for the landowner.
In addition a method of working was drawn up in particular detailing the
wet working using a long reach backactor.
