TWO Somerset quarries could close by 2040, endangering dozens of jobs, writes Daniel Mumby.

Somerset County Council has published its local aggregates assessment (LAA) setting out how many years’ worth of reserves are left in its various quarries.

The county currently exports limestone and other materials to London and the South East for construction projects, mostly transported by rail from two sites between Shepton Mallet and Frome.

But planning permissions governing both quarries expire within the next two decades.

An update on the LAA went before the council’s environment scrutiny committee on Wednesday (September 28).

Somerset quarries produce carboniferous limestone, used to produce concrete and other building materials, and silurian andesite or basalt for skid-resistant road surfaces.

Mineral extraction is responsible for the equivalent of 1,000 full-time jobs across Somerset, generating £135million to the economy in 2019.

The council’s minerals plan seeks to ensure Somerset always has at least 15 years’ worth of quarry-able material available, spread over sites in Cheddar, Cannington, Tatworth, Gurney Slade, Leigh-on-Mendip, Stoke St Michael, East Cranmore and Mells.

For every 100 tonnes of stone quarried in Somerset, 26 tonnes are exported to the South East and 12 tonnes go to London.

A total of 40 per cent of Somerset’s crushed rocks is transported by rail from two quarries.

A spokesman said: “While the current land-bank for crushed rock in Somerset is 27.1 years, the planning permission end dates of the two main rail-linked quarries, Whatley Quarry and Torr Works, are due to expire in 2030 and 2040 respectively.

“This has implications for the ability of crushed rock worked in Somerset to meet future demand for crushed rock in the London and the South East.”

Stone quarried in Somerset is in high demand for infrastructure projects such as the dualling of the A303 near Stonehenge, the new Heathrow Airport rail link, High Speed 2, the next phase of Crossrail and Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk.

A spokesman said: “Even if some of these projects are not supplied by crushed rock from Somerset, they will likely have knock-on effects which will create ongoing demand for crushed rock from Somerset.”

The materials quarried in Somerset will be used on major infrastructure projects such as the dualling of the A358 between Taunton and Ilminster, the Gravity smart campus near Bridgwater and the expansion of Bristol Airport.

The council said the future of Torr Works and Whatley will be considered during an upcoming review of its minerals plan.

A decision is also expected on plans to reopen Westdown Quarry to supply construction projects in Somerset.