Extending the lifespan of a slate quarry would protect jobs in a Gwynedd town.
Cwt y Bugail quarry at Manod Mawr, Blaenau Ffestiniog, is one of a handful still in operation across north Wales and currently employs 45 people.
But with the current planning permission to extract the site set to expire in three years, Welsh Slate has now applied to Gwynedd Council to allow an extension until 2038.
According to Welsh Slate, which has submitted a Scoping Opinion Application in preparation for a full planning application down the line, its envisaged that the current operations would continue as they are and would protect the jobs of those already working at the site.
Cwt Y Bugail, also known as Graig Ddu, has been quarried and mined since the early 19th Century and until the 1940s the site comprised of two separate undertakings, the Manod Slate Mine to the east and the Graig Ddu Quarry to the west.
Any blasting is currently restricted to between 8am and 8pm, with no extension to these hours being proposed.
The planning statement submitted by Welsh Slate, notes: “The prospective applicant is minded to submit a planning application for the continuation of slate extraction operations, together with the deposit of mineral wastes and overburden within the quarry workings beyond the current cessation date of 31st December 2022.
“The proposed development represents a continuation of the existing quarrying operations. The quarry has been in existence for a number of years and currently employs around 45 personnel directly.
“This employment provides indirect effects through increased spending in the area on goods and services.
“As the proposals do not fundamentally change the existing situation then it is difficult to predict any significant effects arising.
“The proposals would not seek to laterally extend either the slate workings or associated tips beyond the current approved footprint and operations would continue at the same level of intensity as current.
“Moreover, all tipping operations would be undertaken within the current operational tip on the western side of the quarry or within the quarry void.”
It's expected that Gwynedd council planning officers will respond before a full application is submitted.
