Aberdeen business Leiths submits planning application to Moray Council for quarry in rural community near Elgin as residents vow to fight proposal
Residents of a rural community say plans to build an industrial scale quarry in the area will “ruin” their peaceful way of life after the submission of an official planning application.
Aberdeen-based business Leiths initially expressed an interest in building a sand and gravel quarry next to Birnie and Thomshill near Elgin in 2023.
The firm held two meetings with residents in February and March last year after concerns regarding the plans were raised by some residents.
However, many have remained opposed to the proposal, accusing Leiths of being “dismissive” of those concerns adding that they would object to any planning application that the business may submit.
An official planning application has now been received by Moray Council which, if consented, would see the creation of a large quarry which will extract around 850,000 tons of sand and gravel over a 17-year period.
Andy Wallis (58), a resident of Birnie and chair of the Stop the Quarry Community Action Group, says many within the community will submit objections to the plans.
He said: “They effectively dismissed all of the complaints and genuine concerns of people and then they’ve gone deadly quiet and then suddenly, at short notice, with no more consultation and deliberately to coincide over the Easter holiday, the planning application has been submitted.
“We’ve now got 21 days to get all of our objections in so there’s a real sense of disappointment.
“Having said that, this has really galvanised the community and it’s not just our community. It's people in Elgin who are going to be affected by this.”
He added: “It’s fundamentally wrong and it sets a really bad precedent.”
Near constant noise, plumes of dust and an increase in traffic that the area cannot cope with are among the major concerns of the community.
And, with the quarry planned to operate six days a week for around 12 hours a day, there are also major health concerns with silica dust, which has been associated with elevated rates of lung cancer, chief among those.
Emily Thomson, who is just 10 years old, is concerned that the quarry may negatively impact upon the health of her dad, Mark (45), who has a partially collapsed lung.
She is planning to write a letter to Moray Council asking them to deny the planning application.
She said: “One of the main reasons I'm worried is that I get the school bus every day and a lot of the time the wind is blowing towards us when we're walking so if the quarry is at the end of the road that could end up blowing the sand and the dust and dad has a partially collapsed lung so that could also affect him.”
Colin McCarthy (60) moved to the area with his wife Angie 20 years ago to bring their kids up in a quiet area with plenty of green space to relax in.
He is worried that the exposed nature of the quarry will mean there will be no way of mitigating dust blowing across to the family home.
But he is also concerned that the road next to the quarry is ill-equipped to accommodate an increase in traffic which could include HGVs.
Mr McCarthy said: “We’re seeing a lot more people cycling on this road as well as people walking their dogs but there’s no pavements, no cycle paths and the verges are quite high.
“If a vehicle comes towards you then you’ve got nowhere to go really.
“Some of the behaviour from younger kids, I would personally classify as dangerous, and that’s what kids do until there is an accident.
“If you look at other quarries across Moray, they’re all hidden behind woods. You cant see them. Whereas that one there, it’s just a massive exposed site. It’s just insane.”
Andrew Kelly (53) and his wife Lorraine (50) moved to the area nearly 10 years ago to build a competition standard archery range next to their house.
The proposed quarry is just 50 metres from the Moray Archery Club.
If it goes ahead, they say the club’s future could seriously be under threat.
Mr Kelly said: “It’s going to affect us immensely with all the noise and dust that could emanate from the site.
“Archery is like golf in that you want peace and quiet and it’s very good for your mental health.
“If we’ve got all this noise it could be a danger for signals and telling people when to shoot and when to not shoot so it’s quite an important consideration.”
Mrs Kelly said: “We have archers that have various disabilities. It’s a peaceful environment and so it’s going to have a big effect on those people.
“They simply wouldn't be able to come because some of them have disabilities where they cannot tolerate noise so it would be a shame to lose people that have been coming for so long and been supportive of archery. It would be a shame to see that go.”
She added: “We’re also concerned about ourselves as well because obviously this is our home.
“We’re just shy of 200 residents in the area but we’re all feeling it and I have underlying health conditions which I worry about.”
Ronnie Gillespie (61) has operated his car repair business in the area for more than 30 years.
While sharing much of the concerns of other residents within the community, he says the quarry will have a direct negative impact on his business as well.
He said: “The biggest thing I'm worried about is the customer's cars getting covered in dust and the problem we've got is, if we wash a customer's car and then it gets a scratch in the process of washing it, then we're liable to get it painted. It's going to cost us money for that.
“The noise it's going to cause as well. We moved here to be quiet in the countryside, and this is just going to ruin it.
Mr Gillespie added: “I would say (to Leiths) to please move it somewhere else because it’s just the wrong place for a quarry.
“It will be a complete eyesore and it will ruin our lives.”
A spokesperson for Leiths said: “Leiths’ proposed new sand and gravel quarry at Dykeside Farm will be an important addition to the supply of building materials within Moray for the construction of housing, infrastructure and other developments.
“Following consultation with local residents in 2024 our proposals have undergone various refinements.
“The submitted planning application scheme has been carefully designed to ensure we meet the required standards, and we remain confident that the quarry will have no unacceptable effects on those living locally or the wider environment.”
