We are dismayed to hear that The Hermitage Quarry, off Hermitage Lane, could be expanded by a further 96 hectares, to allow its operators, Gallagher Aggregates Ltd, to extract a further 20 million tonnes of ragstone.
We must not lose any more ancient woodland or farmland, particularly for a quarry extracting stone that we don’t need. Ragstone is a poor material to build houses from and it doesn’t insulate well. For heritage restoration there are other sources of ragstone. We are also concerned about the impact of additional lorries on the already congested Hermitage Lane.
Green Councillor Stuart Jeffery says “Ancient woodland takes 400 years to develop its special biodiversity and once it’s gone it’s gone. We also desperately need to preserve our farmland for the future.
We need to stop the destruction of these and tell KCC’s Conservative Cabinet Member in charge to change her mind.”
We have launched a petition to tell Conservative Cabinet Member Susan Carey to reject the bid, sign here.
Green Cllr Stuart Jeffery and Green Campaigner Rachel Rodwell will be taking this petition to the heart of Conservative run KCC.
