Hanson Bath & Portland is re-opening Monks Park Bath Stone mine.
In the New Year it is losing its access to the Hartham Park underground quarry that has been the source of its Bath stone for many years. Access to the quarry was on rented land. The contract to use the portal is coming to an end next year and the landlord has decided not to renew it with Hanson but to enter into a new contract with the expansive Lovell Stone Group. Lovell operates Purbeck, Chilmark and Chicksgrove quarries.
Hanson has said it will create a new access to the underground workings at Hartham Park and will continue to extract the Bath stone, including Box Ground, from Hartham Park.
However, getting planning permission for a new portal to Hartham Park is taking longer than expected. Hanson says it has been held up by the requirement for a bat survey and some other planning and environmental issues.
It is unlikely that a decision will be forthcoming before the end of the year. “That means we won’t be able to start the project until well into next year, hence the decision to move into Monks Park,” says the company.
Monks Park is at Gastard, near Corsham in Wiltshire. It has been dormant since 2004. Re-opening the site will safeguard specialist jobs and satisfy customer demand for Bath stone, says Hanson.
General manager Rod Lafargue says the impact of the re-opening of Monk Park on local residents will be minimal.
“On average, there will be up to six lorry movements a day from the mine entrance in Monks Lane. They will transport limestone blocks to specialist masonry works for shaping and cutting, including to our own facility at Keynsham.
“There will also be a small number of cars and light goods vehicles coming in and out for employees, visitors and deliveries.”
He said some preliminary work on preparing the site for re-opening had already been carried out and the mine will be ready for production by the end of the year so there is no gap in production of Bath stone.
Monks Park stone is a high quality medium to fine grained Bath stone suitable for newbuild and conservation work as ashlar and detailed masonry work, including fireplaces. It has been used on The Podium in Bath, St James’s Parade, Bristol, and the Calne Library, as well as further afield in London and Oxford.