AN INACTIVE quarry in Dunmanway could be back in operation for another 20 years if an application by a local firm is successful.

Murray Brothers Tarmacadam Ltd want to revive and extend the lifespan of the quarry at Ardcahan near the Bandon River.

The quarry was last in use in 2014 before Cork County Council closed it down because its operation was unregistered.

The quarry was the main source of material for the nearby tarmacadam plant, also run by Murray Brothers.

The firm, in business since 1972 and currently employing 13 people, is now looking for retrospective planning permission from An Coimisiún Pleanála with a so-called Substitute Consent Application.

Substitute consent allows developers to seek retrospective planning permission for developments that required an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), but did not originally obtain one. The firm has also applied for further development of the quarry once reopened, alongside all associated site development works.

The operation had made a significant contribution to the local economy and construction as well as infrastructure projects in the wider area, said planning consultants McCutcheon Halley in the application statement on behalf of Murray Brothers.

Cork County Council carried out a review of all quarries in Cork in 2012.

Murray Brothers had to close down the quarry in 2014 after the council found the company had failed to register the ongoing operation of the site in 2005.

A quarry has existed at Ardcahan before 1963 and was operated by Cork County Council until Murray Brothers bought it in the 1990s.

The new application to An Coimisiún Pleanála is for quarrying of quartzitic sandstone and siltstone bedrock, with plans to gradually extend the extraction area over 20 years.

It is expected the quarry will produce between 175,000 to a maximum of 225,000 tonnes of rock per year.

According to the plans, remaining reserves of rock are estimated to be around 3.7 million tonnes.

As part of its application to the planning board, the company has submitted a 403-page retrospective Environmental Impact Assessment Report.

If given the green light, the quarry would supply the regional construction industry including local authorities for infrastructure and maintenance products, the nearby tarmacadam plant, as well as external concrete and block making firms and the farming sector.

The reopened quarry would employ five to six full-time staff and up to six part-time staff, such as hauliers.

If given the go ahead, the quarry would operate from Monday to Friday, with blasting taking place between 10 am and 4 pm.

The planning statement points out that the close proximity to the Bandon River Special Area of Conservation (SAC) meant the management of water from the site ‘was of particular importance to the proposed scheme’.

Vehicles going to and from the quarry would use the existing site entrance at the L4621-9 Hospital Road in the southwest of the site.

HGV traffic would go via the R587, 300m to the west.

‘Traffic will be managed to allow for staggered vehicular movements distributed evenly across the day, including during local traffic peak hours,’ the planning statement says.

The quarry void would be left open once the quarry operation seizes after 20 years.

Regeneration would include the cultivation of two native woodland areas in the east and west of the planned extraction area.

‘In addition, the lagoons and wetland area proposed as part of the quarry’s water management system, will become permanent features of the site and will be planted in its margins with native wetland plugs (e.g. native Bulrush and Flag Iris) to provide a high quality habitat and improve the biodiversity of the site,’ the planning statement from McCutcheon Halley goes on to say.

An Coimisiún Pleanála will decide the case by September 9th