Plans submitted for expansion at Hope Works to dig out additional 13 million tonnes of limestone

The major planning application has been submitted to the Peak District National Park which if approved would secure more than 230 jobs.

Hope Works on Pindale Road has proposed a lateral extension of the Limestone Quarry to extract up to 13 million tonnes of limestone for the purpose of continued on-site cement manufacture and the quarry’s restoration.

The active Hope Limestone Quarry covers a site area of approximately 162 hectares, with the extraction areas currently covering approximately 70 hectares.

It is directly adjacent to Hope Cement Works, located within the Hope Valley.

The Hope Limestone Quarry produces a major component in the production of cement undertaken by Breedon Cement Ltd, and as part of the Cement Works complex, it is a significant contributor to the UK’s construction sector and to the PDNP’s economy. Most of the limestone extracted is directly fed to the Cement Works for cement production, with the remainder used in restoration across the quarry and small quantities for maintenance and upkeep for haul roads.

The applicant and current operator, Breedon Cement Ltd, proposes the extension of its long established Limestone Quarry which forms part of the overall Hope Cement Works.

The Cement Works, limestone quarry and shale quarry form a contiguous unit in its operation producing high quality cement for the construction industry.

In a statement submitted with the application a spokesperson for Breedon said: “The Cement Works produced approximately 16 per cent of the UK’s supply of cement in 20202, thereby making a significant contribution to the UK’s construction sector which contributed £142bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy in 2023.”

The company says without the Limestone Quarry, the UK construction sector would need to replace the 16 per cent of the cement supply from other sources, likely leading to increased costs due to greater scarcity of the material.

This increased cost may threaten the commercial viability of some construction projects and increase the costs of new homes to offset the greater cost of materials.

A Breedon spokesperson said: “ If permitted reserves were exhausted by mid-2030, operations at the Cement Works could ceasworst-casescenario, a direct effect being the loss of 223 jobs on-site and £25.5m in GVA to the local economy.

“The proposed scheme is likely to extend quarry operations by approximately 7.5 years – to February 2042 – and thus safeguarding the retention of on-site jobs throughout its operations to that date.”

The application states Hope Cement Works has for almost a century become an accepted feature in the landscape of the Peak National Park, alongside other mineral quarries supplying materials to support industrial processes.

In conclusion the Breedon team said: “The balancing exercise of the relative merits demonstrates there is overwhelming evidence to suggest compliance with policy consideration; and the significant weight afforded to all other relevant considerations dramatically outweighs any perceived harm caused by this appropriate development.”

These proposals are out for consultation until Monday March, 30.

People can comment on this application by searching NP/DDD/1225/1235 on the Peak District National Park planning website.

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