Forest stone takes centre stage
Written by Shaun Moore on June 4, 2010
Stone from a Forest of Dean quarry is being used to create new pavements in the £7million Gloucester Linkages scheme.
Gloucestershire County Council is keen to work with local businesses and source its material as locally as possible.
When Cllr Terry Hale, county councillor for Coleford was contacted by the owners of Forest of Dean Stone Firms, that run Bixslade Quarry, he was keen to get support for their business.
Cllr Hale and Cllr Mark Hawthorne, leader of the council, visited Bixslade Quarry and decided that its Pennant Stone would be an attractive feature in the Linkages scheme.Previously stone had been in shipped in from other parts of the UK and as far afield as China, but the council has now taken delivery of over 1,000 square metres of Pennant Stone slabs and work has already started on laying them in Kimbrose Way.
In all 4,500 square metres will eventually be laid.Cllr Hale said: “The Forest of Dean is a beautiful area, but it is an area of deprivation and we need to do all we can to support local businesses.“When we visited the quarry it was obvious that their stone was of the highest quality and would be perfect for the Linkages project.
“I am absolutely delighted to see the first slabs going down and I look forward to seeing the whole scheme when it’s finished.”
Cllr Mark Hawthorne added: “Times are tough, particularly for business so it’s more important than ever that we give them our backing.
“In this case we’ve been able to find a fantastic material for this important regeneration project at the same time as supporting a Gloucestershire firm.
“Buying and trading local helps protect jobs and boosts our economy and as we have proved here we have some amazing products right here on our doorstep.
“The council is committed to supporting local businesses and I will be looking to see where else we can tap into our local resources.”
Work on the Linkages started in March and is due to continue until November.
Kimbrose Way closed on April 26th for engineers to alter the layout of the road and is planned re-open on the June 28th.
