Wood Lane, just south of the picturesque market town of Ellesmere, has been an important quarry site since the beginning of the 20th century. Today, as well as retaining its status as a prestigious working sand and gravel pit, it is the headquarters of the Tudor Griffiths Group, a leading force in the supply of construction materials and building supplies; ready mixed concrete; waste management; fuel and lubricant distribution.
Renowned for its rich mineral deposits – a legacy of the various Ice Ages of yesteryear – Wood Lane is also gaining recognition as an important conservation area for flora and fauna.
During this unique tour, you will view modern quarry and landfill operations working in harmony to protect and enhance the environment and the wildlife that thrives within it.
An Ice Age Legacy
About 12,000 years ago, as the last great Ice Age was drawing to a close, three massive ice flows from Cumbria, Ireland and North Wales forced their way inland at the Dee The grinding action of the glaciers caused the fragments to break down, producing the various types of aggregate extracted from Wood Lane quarry today. estuary and travelled to Ellesmere, carrying with them huge loads of indigenous rock fragments.
A Crucial Role in Developing Society
Aggregates from Wood Lane sand similar quarries across the country have played a crucial role in developing society. They have formed the backbone of our construction industry for many years, and even today, sand and gravel remain the best materials to make bricks, building blocks and concrete.
Wood Lane sand and gravel has reached far beyond the boundaries of Shropshire and its neighbouring counties. Such was the demand for aggregates during the Second World War, that more than 1,000 tonnes left the quarry every day for use in army camps, factories, airfields and ammunition dumps.
As the war came to an end, US ships returning home used Wood Lane sand and gravel as ballast, which, once unloaded in New York, was used to build some of the city’s most impressive structures.
Nearer home, production was stepped up to provide the aggregates and concrete badly needed to rebuild houses, schools, hospitals and factories in the nearby cities of Manchester and Liverpool.
At the turn of the 1960’s, the first ready mixed concrete plant was installed at Wood lane, which together with extensive automation of the sand and gravel production process, made the quarry one of the most advanced in the country. Such sophistication meant that major structures, including the mighty Clywedog Dam in Llandidloes, mid Wales, were built using Wood Lane concrete.
Today, the Tudor Griffiths Group continues to lead the way in the field of ready mixed concrete, boasting the largest concrete conveyor in the world, measuring 16.5 metres (55ft) in length.
Extraction & Production
The various complex stages of extraction and production start with the temporary removal and storage of soils to reveal the mineral below! The raw material is then dug from the various seams in the working face and transported by either machine or conveyor to the production plant. The plant consists of a series of crushing and washing processes that separate the material into fines (sands) and larger solids (gravels). Using water as the main transportation agent, these materials are then further crushed and sorted into the range of products that are marketed from Wood Lane. The main sands produced are building sand used for bricklaying and plastering, and concreting sand for ready mixed concrete production. The production plant at Wood Lane is like a factory and is capable of producing gravels varying in size from 5mm (quarter inch) to over 40mm (one and a half inch). Much of the sand and gravel goes to supply the companies own 8 ready mixed concrete plants and is also pre-packed on site into bags for distribution through the 6 TG Builders Merchants outlets.
Landfill & Recycling
The void left by sand and gravel extraction is initially lined with an engineered quality controlled layer of clay and then filled with non-hazardous wastes. Before the waste is landfilled it is firstly sorted to remove all materials that are capable of being recycled, such as wood, metal, building materials. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of waste materials arrive at Wood Lane each week, of which more than half is sorted and passed on for recycling. The waste is deposited on the landfill in thin layers , which are subjected to compaction by a 42 tonne purpose built compactor machine with steel toothed wheels.
Once filled, the void is then sealed with more clay and restored to agriculture. The whole process is very carefully planned and controlled, under the ever watchful eyes of the Environment Agency. As a safeguard permanent inspection boreholes are in place around the site for ongoing monitoring which ensures that the surrounding environment is not affected in anyway by the landfill operations.
As the waste breaks down, it produces methane gas which is extracted through further boreholes drilled into the compacted waste. This gas is currently neutralised through burning at temperatures in excess of 1000oC. Ultimately the company plans to invest in a generating plant to convert gas to electricity. The current forecasts are that this would provide enough power to potentially supply both Wood Lane and the nearby village of Colemere.
There are some opinions that landfill is excessively harmful to the environment and should be replaced with other forms of waste disposal. However a properly designed contained landfill from which landfill gas is harnessed and converted into other forms of useable energy, in reality is the most environmentally friendly method available to society for disposing of its wastes.
Restoration and Sustainability
The company returns the land at Wood Lane to agricultural use once the quarrying and subsequent landfill activities are completed. The restored pasture lands are grazed by the company’s own livestock, including award winning pedigree Highland cattle and Lleyn sheep.
The extraction process gives rise to a excellent example of sustainability. As the raw material is processed through the plant the washing process removes the unwanted silt and clay in the dirty water. This water is pumped to a disused part of the quarry where it is left to settle, leaving a thick clay-based product, which is eventually used for landscaping the various pools and marshes that have been developed along side the agricultural land as part of a nature and recreational conservation area.
Considerable investment has been made in equipment to assist with the handling of incoming wastes, particularly as regards the sorting of construction wastes. This has resulted in the production of an increased quality and quantity of secondary aggregates ( eg re-useable hardcore). The whole site could be truly regarded as a classic example of sustainability.
Quarrying and Conservation Working Together
The Tudor Griffiths Group is very proud of its restoration record over the last 70 years at Wood Lane. It goes to great lengths to ensure that excavated land is not just put back to its natural state, but, where possible, improved and enhanced.
With its large expanses of water and open sand faces, the topography both in and around the working quarry provides an ideal environment for a wide range of wildlife and birds. In fact, such is its uniqueness, that the company has teamed up with Shropshire Wildlife Trust to establish part of the area as a nature reserve.
Already, many rare species have been spotted at Wood Lane as a stop over on their way south to winter as far way as Africa.
Aquatic and waterside plants have been introduced at the site, along with a natural hay meadow to encourage the growth of wild flowers and grasses. Species already established include rare varieties of orchid, notably the bee orchid and the pyramid orchid
An Asset to the Community
As well as car parking, toilet facilities, and access for wheelchairs, the nature reserve boasts two classroom sized ‘viewing hides’ at key vantage points for the benefit of visitors, including the 60 or so school parties which visit each year.
The site is popular with fishing enthusiasts, with more than 100 permits issued annually.
Such is the commitment to conservation at Wood Lane, that the Tudor Griffiths Group has won a series of major national awards. Most recently The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) declared it ‘Best Quarry Site’ in its ‘Bird Challenge’ competition, as well as awarding first prize for ‘Conservation and Community Involvement’.