Suttle Stone Quarries, local employer to 50 staff, started a planning process in 2012 to continue its quarry works on the Isle of Purbeck. However, with quarrying reserves coming to an end at its Swanworth Quarry site in Worth Matravers over the next few months, Suttles’ planning application with Dorset Council to continue quarrying on the Isle of Purbeck is currently ongoing.
At capacity, Suttles’ Swanworth Quarry site supplies approximately 50% of Dorset’s required crushed stone to the area, which is used as a sub-base for construction schemes, rock armour on sea defence works, gabions and decorative chippings. The Suttle family has worked in the natural stone and quarrying business on the Isle of Purbeck since the 1920s. The quarrying is currently operated across two sites: Swanworth Quarry in Worth Matravers, and California Quarry in Swanage.
Suttles’ Director, John Suttle said “Over the past few years, we have been working very closely with Dorset Council and other organisations, such as the Environment Agency and Natural England, to ensure the proposed new quarry will benefit the local economy whilst minimising the impact on the environment. As Swanworth serves the very local markets of Purbeck and Poole/Bournemouth, it actually provides an environmental benefit in terms of massive haulage CO2e savings compared to alternative sources of crushed stone.”
“The next phase of the planning application process will be a further public consultation made by Dorset Council. We are hopeful that a positive decision will be made shortly, especially as our quarrying reserves will be coming to an end at our Worth Matravers site over the next few months. Like all organisations, we need to plan for the next phase of business, whatever that looks like, so that we can be around to support the local community for many more years to come.”
“We are always striving to benefit the local area, including working hard towards becoming carbon neutral. The measures we have brought in so far, such as investing in solar panel energy and more environmentally-friendly equipment, have already brought in savings of almost 400 tCO2e since 2018.”
“Conservation is also close to our hearts: as phases of quarrying finish at Swanworth Quarry, we are continuously providing significant biodiversity improvements. We achieve this by cultivating rare limestone grassland habitats in the completed quarry areas with the help and advice from Dr Barbara Smith, a renowned ecologist on habitat restoration projects, specialising in aggregate sites. We also implement a meticulous cattle grazing regime to help suppress weed growth. In what was once farmland, then quarry, the end result is wild grassland, featuring various species of flora and fauna including quail, stoat, adder, hare and deer, which are regularly on view. Habitat creation is something that the quarrying industry has become particularly adept at over the decades, and we like to think we are a great example, having previously restored quarries in Swanage as well as achieving excellent restoration results at Swanworth.”
“As Suttles has been part of the Isle of Purbeck quarrying scene since the 1920s, we know that our service benefits the local community in 3 key areas. The first is to significantly reduce the carbon footprint. If supplies had to be transported here by a company much further away, potentially in the Mendips area, this would not only increase the carbon footprint by potentially thousands of tonnes of CO2e per year, but also the number of larger articulated lorries on our local roads.”
“The second benefit is providing local jobs for local people. Currently, we employ a loyal team of 50 staff, boosting the local jobs market. Our team have all been comprehensively trained in their roles and drivers take part in the voluntary ‘Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme’, which demonstrates operators are achieving exemplary levels of best practice in environmental protection, as well as safety and efficiency.”
“The third area is pricing. By providing a local service, our crushed stone prices are lower compared to importing products from around the country. Our customers, such as local builders and gardeners, are already feeling the pinch with rising inflation, energy, and transport costs, so a further increase to supply chain costs by moving supply to a non-local company could further impact on their businesses’ profitability.”
Suttles is a family-run ethical business with sustainability at the core of its values, employing 115 staff in Dorset. Suttles comprises a group of companies including Suttle Stone Quarries and Suttle Projects, with 4 operating sites based across Dorset, including two in the Isle of Purbeck, and sites at Mannings Heath and Hamworthy, Poole. Suttle Stone Quarries offers the sale and delivery of crushed limestone and aggregates for architectural, landscaping, and civil engineering applications; gabion and rock armour, used in coastal and waterways protections schemes; earthworks collection services; and an inert waste recycling facility. Its quarry, Swanworth Quarry at Worth Matravers, is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary. Suttle Projects offers national civil engineering, earthworks, piling and marine solutions. Suttle Projects works closely with the national rail network to provide civil engineering and is also working with BPC Council to replace its beach timber groynes to renew coastal defences.
For further information about Suttles, go to www.suttles.co.uk
To view the planning application details, click here