Welsh quarry firms fear stony future OPERATORS SERVING a limestone
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quarry near the Welsh town of Abergele will be watching anxiously next week as an inquiry
begins which could lead to the quarry's closure. The inquiry is to decide if the quarry, outside St George, can
be extended, securing its future for the next decade. The quarry owner, Hanson Aggregates, says that if its application is refused then the quarry may have to shut.
Mel Garner of J&M Garner, one of the operators working out of the quarry, says closure would be disastrous.
He adds:"We do 600-700 tonnes a week out of that quarry and that is work we won't have if it has to close. We have been in this business since 1974 but the way things are going there is soon going to be nowhere to go."
Hanson spokesman David Weeks says it will argue that if the extension is not permitted then limestone for local markets will have to come from Denby, which is further away.
He adds: "It will have to travel further, which is clearly not environmentally desirable."
Conwy Council had decided to permit the quarry expansion when the plans were called in by the Welsh National Assembly and the inquiry was set up.
The quarry provides work for 15 hauliers in the area.