Banbridge Newry & Mourne Plan 2015

Strategic Plan Framework: Minerals

Mineral resources within Banbridge and Newry and Mourne Districts comprise greywacke/gritstones which are quarried at a number of locations from Cullyhanna in the south west to Edentrillick outside Dromore in the north east. Newry granite is extracted from two quarries in the area. One such quarry operates north east of Newry while the other is located off the Newry to Warrenpoint dual carriageway. All supplies of sand and gravel in the area originate from the superficial deposits located along the coastal lowlands south of the Mourne Mountains.

The distribution of aggregates and quarries within the Mournes is quite distinctive. Sand and gravel reserves are located in the glacial deposits of the coastal plain and are particularly concentrated between Cranfield and Kilkeel. Hard rock quarries in the Mournes area are to be found in the foothills north east of Mayobridge and on the outskirts of Newry. The greywacke mineral resource found in the District forms part of the Silurian greywacke series which underlie much of Down. There has been a significant change of emphasis in past years from granite quarrying in the Mournes to sand and gravel extraction in the lowlands, which has helped protect the high amenity and unique landscape character of this area. Mourne granite is no longer extracted within Newry and Mourne District.

The minerals produced from the hard rock and sand and gravel quarries are used to produce building and roadstone aggregates for the construction industry for Banbridge, Newry and Mourne and the wider Belfast markets. As well as producing primary crushed rock for use as hardcore, many quarries further crush the material to produce finer aggregate which can be used in a range of secondary processes. Such processes include ready-use concrete production, tarmacadam production and the manufacture of concrete blocks. These processes increase the value of the aggregates and enable the quarries to compete over greater distances.

Over the period 1991 - 2001, (with the exception of 1994 when no data was available), the output from the four hard rock quarries in Banbridge averaged some 821,000 tonnes while in Newry and Mourne, the output from the nine active quarries averaged 781,000 tonnes. Since 1996, the average output from all the hardrock quarries increased up to 1999 with a small fall in average output only from the Banbridge quarries occurring during 2000. This suggests a consistent demand for such minerals in the Banbridge and Newry and Mourne Districts which seems likely to continue over the Plan period.

In relation to the supply of sand and gravel over the same period, the output from the Newry and Mourne District pits averages some 84,000 tonnes. However, annual output ranges over this period from a low of 42,000 tonnes in 1991 to a high of 147,000 tonnes in 1998. Continued demand for sand and gravel in the Newry and Mourne area is likely to continue over the Plan period. The Department will seek to meet this demand from mineral resources which are to be found between Kilkeel and Cranfield.

In formulating its mineral policies for Banbridge and Newry and Mourne Districts, the Department has sought to balance the need for extraction in the Districts against the need to protect and conserve the environment. As a result, the extraction of sand and gravel minerals in environmentally sensitive areas will be controlled in the public interest.

Regional Policy Context

The RDS provides the strategic environmental context for the mineral development and outlines a number of SPGs and measures as follows:

• to maintain a working countryside with a strong mixed use rural economy (SPG-RNI 1) including:
  • facilitating the development of rural industries, businesses and enterprises in appropriate locations, and ensure they are satisfactorily integrated with the settlement or rural landscape, one element of which is to use minerals for economic development in a sustainable manner and in a way which assesses the need to exploit the mineral resource against the need to protect and conserve environmental resources (RNI 1.2).

Regional planning policies for mineral development are currently set out in PSRNI. This contains a range of policies for the control of mineral development including peat extraction, taking into account environmental protection, visual amenity, public safety and traffic considerations. It also includes policies for mineral reserves, valuable minerals, areas of constraint on mineral development and restoration of mineral workings. An Area of Constraint on Mineral Development is designated as identified on Plan Strategy Maps 2/01 a - b and 3/01 a - c, and in the Countryside Section in Volumes 2 and 3 of the Plan.

PPS 2 - Planning and Nature Conservation contains policies that provide protection for the full range of sites of nature conservation importance, including peatlands.

PPS 6 - Planning, Archaeology and the Built Heritage sets out policies for the protection and conservation of archaeological remains and features of the built heritage and embodies the Government's commitment to sustainable development and environmental stewardship.

Hydrocarbon Exploration

In the event that hydrocarbon exploration identifies the possibility of commercially viable reserves of oil or gas, their exploitation will be considered in the context of the short and long term suitability of the site. Future exploration under licence may identify deposits of oil or gas which are particularly valuable to the Northern Ireland economy.

Hydrocarbon extraction is a site specific operation with any potential adverse environmental effects being dependent on the methods used at that site. Applications will be treated on their individual merits having regard to the impact of specific development on nearby residents, and sites or features designated for their scientific, landscape or heritage interests and on the environment in general.

Map No. 2/01a: Banbridge District West (Contact Divisional Planning Office)

Map No. 2/01b: Banbridge District East (Contact Divisional Planning Office)

Map No. 3/01a: Newry and Mourne District West (Contact Divisional Planning Office)

Map No. 3/01b: Newry and Mourne District Central (Contact Divisional Planning Office)

Map No. 3/01c: Newry and Mourne District East (Contact Divisional Planning Office)

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