Holcim, operators of Haughmond Quarry, have proposed an additional quarry and processing plant at Haughmond Farm.

This website aims to raise awareness of the proposal and support an effective campaign to oppose the quarry.

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Working together we can protect our communities and environment from the harmful impacts of the proposed quarry extension.

Join our community effort to oppose the quarry development and protect Haughmond Hill.

Object Now. Send  an email to Uffington Parish Council.

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Why We Must Act

The proposed processing plant, road, and associated buildings and offices would completely change the nature of the landscape and the very air we breathe for the rest of our lives and probably beyond.

The campaign highlights four core areas of concern:

Irreversible Heritage Damage
Dust plumes and heavy ground vibrations from blasting risk structurally destabilising the ancient earthworks of Ebury Hillfort and the fragile masonry of Haughmond Abbey.

Public Health
Crushed rock extraction inherently generates silica dust carried by the wind, both coarse particles that coat cars and windows and fine airborne matter that poses respiratory and cancer risks to residents. Fine particles under 10 micrometres can travel several kilometres.

Destruction of Tranquility
High-impact noise and industrial machinery will ruin the peaceful environment that attracts thousands of educational and tourism visitors to the English Heritage site each year.

Hydrological Threat
Deep quarrying risks altering the local water tables, which could dry out and permanently destroy unexcavated organic archaeology preserved in the soils surrounding the hillfort.

The campaign group is urging all residents across Shrewsbury and wider Shropshire to join us in TAKING ACTION NOW.

FAQs

Friends of Haughmond Hill is a group of like-minded residents campaigning to encourage people to object to Holcim’s quarrying proposal at Haughmond Farm. Friends of Haughmond Hill has no other agenda and has no other objectives.

Answer: winning a refusal will depend on the quality and range of the specialist reporting, analysis and legal advice the campaign is able to muster. We need the funds to challenge Holcim effectively ‘at their own game’. The fees involved in achieving this will realistically be in the thousands of pounds.

Proposal planning application expected before Christmas.

Traffic and Road Safety

HGVs: Quarries generate significant heavy-vehicle movements with dozens of daily lorry trips to transport materials, which can cause congestion on local roads.

Road wear and tear: The structural design of rural roads is not suited for continuous heavy axle loads. This will lead to accelerated pothole formation, rutting, and road deformities.

Safety risks

Slow-moving, fully laden HGVs pulling out onto a road create hazards, particularly if the junction has poor sight lines. Increased lorry traffic also heightens risks for cyclists, pedestrians, and local school routes on the way to the nearby
village school.

Noise Pollution

Quarrying involves both continuous background noise and sudden, high-impact sounds.

Operational machinery:

Heavy earthmovers, excavators, and processing plants create a continuous drone. As this quarry would process high specification aggregate [HSA], the crushing equipment will cause a highly significant noise level.

Alarms, reversing beepers and Tannoy systems

For site safety, all mobile plant machinery uses audible reversing alarms. These high-pitched "beeps" travel long distances and are a frequent source of complaint.

Blasting

As the quarry extracts hard rock, explosive blasting will occur, which causes sudden, loud impact noise and ground vibrations that will rattle windows / walls etc. in nearby homes.

Dust and Air Quality

Dust generation is an inherent part of mineral extraction and handling and is heavily influenced by wind speed and direction.

Nuisance dust

Coarser dust particles settle on flat surfaces. This manifests as a visible film on villagers’ cars, windows, gardens, and solar panels etc.

Fine particulate matter

Finer, invisible dust can be suspended in the air. This poses a potential respiratory irritation risk for everyone within a wide radius, and particularly for vulnerable residents with pre-existing conditions like asthma and children.

Source points

Dust is primarily kicked up by HGVs travelling on unpaved internal haul roads, stockpiled material catching the wind, and the mechanical crushing or dropping of dry stone.

We treat your data with absolute care. Your email address is stored securely within our standard mailing list platform and is accessed strictly by our local resident organizing committee. We will only use your email to send vital campaign updates and emergency alert actions. We will never share or sell your details.

This movement is managed entirely by a voluntary committee of local residents who live in the affected community. We are independent, non-profit, and run entirely on volunteer time and grassroots donations from neighbours.

Once the council receives the formal application, it triggers a strict, mandatory public comment window of just 21 days. This is our only legal window to flood the planning portal with objections.

Support Our Campaign. Make a donation

Winning a refusal will depend on the quality and range of the specialist reporting, analysis and legal advice the campaign is able to muster. We need the funds to challenge Holcim effectively ‘at their own game’. The fees involved in achieving this will realistically be in the thousands of pounds.

What your donation will also support:

  • Leaflets, posters & banners to raise awareness
  • Website hosting and email accounts for outreach
  • Social media promotion to spread the word
  • Possible surveys to show strong community opposition

Every donation, helps us stay organised, visible, and effective.

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