'Regionally important' quarry to expand

Leaton Quarry provides around 25% of all aggregate for road and housing construction projects in the West Midlands region

A quarry is to expand, despite concerns about its impact on nearby properties.

Telford and Wrekin councillors were told Leaton Quarry near Wellington was of "regional importance" because of the amount of aggregate it supplied.

The authority had received 74 objections to the application by the Breedon Group, including complaints that homes were shaken when blasting occurs.

But a report drawn up by council officers referenced national guidance which said “great weight” should be given to the economic benefits of quarry operations over other material planning considerations.

The scheme was approved by a majority vote of the council's planning committee, with one vote against and one abstention.

A section of Leaton Lane to the north of the site will be permanently closed in order to take in the expansion, which will enable an additional 21.3 megatonnes of reserves to be extracted from the site over 26 years.

The quarry has been in operation since the 1940s, and employs around 100 people to produce and transport around 750,000 tonnes of material each year.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.