Posted on May 26, 2025
A large sand and gravel quarry could be excavated near a Derbyshire village.
The 177-acre series of fields off Leathersley Lane, west of Scropton and south of the A50, could be turned into a sand and gravel quarry under plans submitted to Derbyshire County Council.
It forms the first major minerals application validated by the authority since it changed administration from Conservative to Reform UK following the local elections.
The application, submitted by Heidelberg Materials UK, seeks to quarry 400,000 tonnes of sand and gravel a year for eight to 10 years – totalling 3.1 million tonnes of materials.
A decision will be made in the next few months.
This plot of land has been earmarked by the county council in its minerals Local Plan for a number of years, forming one of five new quarries to be added to the county’s minerals blueprint up until 2038.
Plans from the Local Plan submission had said the railway-side site would involve all HGV traffic being outed to the west to join the A50 at the Sudbury roundabout, as opposed to travelling through Scropton.
This would be safeguarded by legal agreement and by CCTV, the plans say.
It would be restored as a wetland/water-based wildlife habitat with some public access after its closure, the Local Plan had detailed.
Plans submitted to the council detail this would include planting 25,000 trees.
It says the site would “incorporate a proactive initiative to substantially increase the flood water storage capacity of the Foston Reservoir” which the developer says could reduce flooding on surrounding roads – which often occurs during even minimal rainfall.
A further quarry out of the five new sites is set to sit directly next to the 177-acre site would forever further 196 acres, encompassing almost all of the remaining fields between Leathersley Lane, the railway and the A515, close to the Sudbury A50 roundabout.
The developers say the planned 177-acre site is set to serve as a replacement for Shardlow Quarry, in operation since 1971,which is set to be exhausted and decommissioned from 2028 – as one of five remaining sand and gravel quarries in Derbyshire.
It details in a report: “In order to ensure continuity of supply to their existing customers, the company need to secure new reserves. Shardlow produces an average of 400,000 tonnes per annum, though output can fluctuate due to the impact of flooding from the River Trent which lies within 50 metres.
“The scheme has been developed to largely replace Shardlow to ensure production levels of sand and gravel are maintained.
“There is significant demand for sand and gravel from Derbyshire to meet market demand both within the county and in surrounding counties.
“The scheme supports continued supply of sand and gravel to the Midlands region to facilitate existing and future construction demands.”
