Quarrying

Mendip is well regarded by the quarrying industry for its high quality limestone. Laid down 360 million years ago in warm shallow seas this sedimentary rock is now quarried from nine working quarries across Mendip.

It is used for a multitude of uses across southern England but the crushed stone is prized for:

Road building
Housing and construction
Steel making
Chemical industry
Tooth paste

In the UK our expectations for better living standards has increased the demand for quarried materials. Our consumption is the equivalent of 4.5 tonnes per person in Britain - a little lower than other western countries such as France and Germany.

Local benefits

The total area of Mendip quarried amounts to about 1% with further planning permission granted for another 0.8%. Huge amounts of stone are transported from east Mendip by the two train railheads or by road from the Cheddar area.

2500 people are employed locally as a result of this economic activity and about £40 million per year is contributed to the local economy.

Environmental impact

Despite the immediate economic benefits, the historic legacy of minimal mitigation by the quarrying industry means there is a tough job to minimise the impact of the industry's long lasting activities.

Most Mendip quarrying in the west takes place on scarp slopes and affects the landscape of the AONB. Restoration is now a fundamental activity of the Mendip Quarry producers to mitigate this.

Dust, noise and water pollution are all unwanted by-products of our need for stone. MQP have strict guidelines to reduce these undesirables.