Goathill Quarry in Fife set to expand and continue for at least 40 years

The quarry is set to be in use for the next 40 tears.

Goathill Quarry, near Cowdenbeath and close to the Mossmorran gas plant, had applied to extend its footprint by 46 hectares in order to seek out a further eight million tonnes of extractable material that would keep it working for another 40 years.

It had also sought to build an asphalt plant and a bottom ash processing plant within the quarry to produce road surfacing materials and aggregate materials for other construction projects, respectively.

Fife’s Central and West Planning Committee heard on Wednesday that the decades-long operation of the quarry would also include restoration work on plots where mineral extraction has been exhausted, to ensure a natural landscape of woodland and wetland is returned to the area upon completion.

No objections were received from Fife Council’s environmental protection experts or environment specialists, nor were consultees NatureScot, SEPA or the local community councils.

Recommending the proposal for approval, planning officer Martin McGroarty said: “Minerals for construction projects and road building are a key requirement in maintaining the economic health of Fife and beyond.

The committee approved the application unanimously after seeking assurances on future restoration of the landscape and operator Collier Quarrying and Recycling’s responsibilities to the local area.

However, 34 conditions were attached to the approval including an annual mineral extraction limit of 250,000 tonnes and a deadline of December 2060 to complete all operations on site.

Councillor Alice McGarry (SNP, Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay), convener of the committee, said: “This quarry is, in the scheme of things, one of the better quarries. I don’t think I’ve had a single complaint about the quarry operations. It is one of the better managed quarries.”