EU decision in Aggregates Levy

We’re pleased to hear about the recent decision by the EU on the Aggregates Levy (AGL). Although it’s likely to be a while before the full extent of the decision is realised and the text is published, we’re sure that it marks a significant victory for the BAA, who have been fighting this cause single-handedly, and the likelihood is that this unfair tax may well be on its way out at last.

The European Commission has now decided that all but one of the exemptions, exclusions and tax reliefs from the Aggregates Levy introduced in 2002 are free of state aid.

The levy was brought in by the UK government to reduce environmental damage by encouraging the use of recycled aggregate and other alternatives to freshly extracted aggregate, and also to help promote the efficient extraction and use of aggregates, and it’s been levied on rock, sand and gravel on their first extraction as well as on processed products.

The BAA and many others believed that the levy was inherently unfair because some of the materials and production processes were given an exemption, simply because their aggregate is produced as a by-product or in some cases because their products can replace other freshly extracted aggregates.

The BAA has been trying to get the inequity in the AGL rectified for some time, without the backing of the Mineral Products Association (MPA). The debate about the legality of the tax under EU State Aid law has been going on April 2012, when the Commission ruled that “the planned exemptions involved no state aid within the meaning of EU rules because they were justified by the logic of the tax.”

The latest decision is helpful; but it also means that some of the businesses that have benefited from the exemption for shale and spoil for shale may potentially be facing very large bills, backdated to 2002, a ridiculous situation which could have been avoided if the government had accepted that the Aggregates Levy was flawed, something that the BAA has been pointing out to them since before 2002.

Robert Durward commented;
“We have always said that the eventual demise of the AGL could be messy and a number of our own members are also now at risk of having to repay shale exemptions.  However we have obtained legal advice on the matter and the association will support companies faced with draconian bills from HMRC.”

There will be another hearing in the Court of Appeal in November 2015 when BAA will once again challenge the 2002 judgment by Justice Moses that the Levy did not involve State aid. Although there’s clearly still a way to go, the BAA fully expects that this hearing will provide a further step in the right direction.

Planning a garden landscaping project

Faced with a garden that either needs a complete overhaul or just a nice new look, there are so many questions that you need to answer before you get started and order in the granite and turf. Firstly, what are you planning to use the garden for? If it’s intended to be a nice place for the kids to play and to have barbecues in the summer, you’ll need to factor in different things than if you were planning to attempt self-sufficiency and grow fruit and vegetables.


Take a look at what you have; in particular make a note of where the sunny areas are and which parts of the garden don’t get much sun. Are there any areas that act as a sun trap or a wind tunnel? This all needs to be taken into account before you start planning amazing floral borders in places where the sun doesn’t shine. In the same way, if it’s too windy in one part of the garden, that’s no place to think about putting your fire pit.

Unless you’re calling in an expert to help you get everything looking the way you want it, or you have a large budget, be prepared to start your landscaping project on a small scale. Develop your plan slowly; working on different areas of the garden rather than planning to everything at once is a good idea and a much easier way to tackle it than giving yourself an unrealistic deadline.

Create a focal point in the garden from which you can build the rest. If you have a larger space to work with, you could create a couple – even three – but make these areas the focus for your efforts. Think about a rockery perhaps, with attractive coloured granite providing an unusual talking point. A pond or water feature can also work well. A focal point will draw the eye to an attractive feature and move it through the landscape.

Pull it all together using pacing and scale, varying shades and patterns. For example, you could plant tall shrubs or plants against a building or at the back of a flower bed that you’ve stocked with smaller plants. You can also try colour-matching or contrasting so that it looks as if the choice of plants and flowers in deliberate, and it adds a sense of cohesion rather than making the garden look a brightly coloured jumble of ideas!

Using unusual features, making the most of the space you have in even a smaller garden and careful planning are key to a well-designed garden that looks as if it could have been created by landscaping experts.

Frantic – the new Gun album is imminent

What does this have to do with aggregate and Scottish quarries? Well, Paul McManus from Cloburn just so happens to live a double life as the current drummer of GUN, and he’ll be featuring on ‘Frantic’ which is due for release later this month.

GUN were formed in 1987 and Paul McManus, who previously played with La Paz and 'No Dice' joined in 2010, when the band supported Lynyrd Skynyrd on the UK leg of their 2010 tour. GUN are probably best known for their top 40 hits “Better Days” and the Cameo cover “Word Up” although apart from a split during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the band has been playing in one line-up or another for almost thirty years, supporting massive bands like The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi and DefLeppard.

The latest album follows a series of live gigs from the band, including playing at King Tut’s Wah Wah hut last year – King Tut’s said afterwards that the band had the loudest crowd of 2014!GUN also played at Download 2012, and eager fans have been waiting for a new album since the release of Break the Silence. ‘Frantic’ will also be available to buy in a swanky deluxe version which features exclusive includes recordings taken from three of the band’s sold out shows.

The bonus disc features ten songs which have been recorded over the three nights at King Tut’s including Don’t Say It’s Over, Better Days, Taking On The World, Inside Out, Word Up, Steal Your Fire and crowd-pleaser Shame On You.

If the shows are anything to go by, we can expect a stunning album from the boys. The introduction of keyboards, synthesizer and saxophone and a move away from driving guitars and heavy drumming, means that they have taken on more of a ‘pop/rock’ style and decided that the traditional metal scene isn’t for them anymore. Frontman Dante Gizzi even admitted that he’d been listening to dance music recently, possibly influencing the direction of Frantic?

Dante told the Daily Record;

“We’ve had such an amazing time recording this album and had the privilege of recording it.

“We believe that this album has captured the Gun style in every way and we hope the fans will love it as much as we’ve loved recording it!”

Are low oil prices here to stay?

You might not think it, but overall the price of oil has been in decline for around 20 years. There are several reasons; shale oil from the US and the return of Libyan oil to the market are increasing supply, and there’s been a slowdown in the Chinese and EU economies which has reduced demand. A strong US dollar has made things worse, making oil more expensive in real terms.

But what’s likely to happen to the price of oil in the near future? Surely the industry can’t withstand too much more of a price drop? Unfortunately for them, it looks as if that may be the case, as the US shale industry is booming and there are no imminent signs of a recovery in the global economy.

Normally OPEC would intervene and cut production, but they’ve declined this time; well, given that they are only responsible for 30 per cent of global oil production these days we can’t really blame them.

Without intervention from Opec artificially supporting the oil price, and demand dropping, it’s quite likely that oil prices will stay below $100 for some time. The futures market expects the price to increase to about $70 by 2019, although most experts forecast from just $40-$80 for the next few years at least.

The low prices could put North Sea oil production at serious risk; the newer wells need to be able to get $70-$80 just to make it worthwhile drilling. It’s not unforeseeable that North Sea oil production could fall by 20 per cent, which would impact massively on the Scottish economy.

The major oil companies have announced tens of billions of dollars of cuts in exploration spending and the share prices of BP, Total and Chevron are all down about 15 per cent since summer 2014. Smaller oil groups face an even more uncertain future.

If you think this is good news for the renewables sector, you’d be wrong. Dropping oil and gas prices undermine the economic argument submitted by many governments around the world in support of renewable energy, and that is that the price of fossil fuels will carry on increasing. Shares in wind turbine and solar panel manufacturing firms are already beginning to see a drop in price.

If this all sounds apocalyptic for the oil industry, don’t worry just yet. The industry has an inbuilt self-stabilising price mechanism which stops things getting too out of hand price-wise; so when prices fall, production drops, and then of course the oil supply falls and prices start to rise again. Exploration and production will be reduced while prices stay low, and this also means supply will drop off. It might take a bit of time to filter through, but when it does you can be sure that the prices will start to increase.

Environmentalists say that fossil fuels should really stay where they are so that governments can meet their climate change targets and minimise global warming. In time, a meaningful carbon price - hitting polluters for emitting CO2 – will be introduced, and this is likely to have a massive impact on the global oil market.

Don’t underestimate the influence of electric vehicles on the oil sector either. As battery technology improves, electric cars will become more appealing and move into the mainstream, reducing the demand for oil. Transport currently accounts for over half of oil consumption. So, are low prices here to stay? For a while, possibly. The oil market is certainly going through some major changes, and there’s more to come.

MPs debate support for opencast coal sites

MPs have been debating the subject of who should foot the bill for the restoration of opencast coal sites. The debates, which took place at the end of January, saw Business, Innovation and Skills Minister Matthew Hancock agreeing to work with politicians from across all parties to find a solution to the issues faced by the communities affected.

There are currently 34 open-cast mines across the UK—17 of which are in Scotland. There are also a number of unrestored and orphaned sites, cases where the developers have declared bankruptcy and disappeared.

Mr Hancock said he “recognised the scale of the challenge” but added that the costs of the restoration of opencast mines had already been taken into account back in 1994 when companies paid for the rights to the sites.

The debate was opened by was opened by Madeleine Moon, Shadow Business, Innovation and Skills Minister, after she had expressed her concern about some of the opencast sites in south Wales which were still waiting to be restored by their old operators long after mining had ended at the sites.

Ms Moon told the debate; "The Treasury has profited. Businesses have profited. Somebody has to hold up their hand and take the moral, social, political, financial and ethical responsibility. “We cannot let the private companies get out of this with a responsibility-free zone. Inadequate legislation failed; inadequate regulation failed; the mining industry has failed. We have passed the parcel of responsibility for too long. Let us stop the music, and make the changes our communities need, expect and deserve.”

She added that as the privatisation of the coal industry in 1994 had benefitted the UK Treasury and its agencies the funding for the restoration of the old mines should also be their responsibility.Plaid Cymru Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards said that the UK Government and opencast operators should jointly be responsible for a fund which would pay to complete any outstanding restoration work.

“The Welsh Government can and must deliver meaningful action to protect communities. The UK Government should also be ready and willing to assist by sharing expertise, supporting the devolved Governments in tackling the issue and helping fund restoration work not completed largely as a result of the loopholes left by the coal industry privatisation legislation, supported by this House.

“That fund should be funded by contributions by the UK Government and open-cast operators, and the trustees should include members of communities affected by open-cast operations.”

New urban cycle lane for London is approved

The campaign for an urban cycle lane through central London finally achieved its target in January when Boris Johnson approved plans for what will become Europe’s longest segregated urban cycle lane. Nicknamed the “Crossrail for bikes”, it will become a protected route through Parliament Square, along the Victoria Embankment and Upper Thames Street.

Support for the cycle lane was overwhelming, with 84 per cent of the 21,500 responses to the plans backing the suggested route which will link Barking and Acton, as well as a linked north-south route between King’s Cross and Elephant and Castle.

The project is due to get underway in April, once plans are ratified by Transport for London (TfL) in early February. The central part of the route, which will cost an estimated £41million to build, will create a link between Tower Hill and the A40 Westway flyover at Paddington, and should be completed by April 2016.

TfL board members are also all set to approve upgrades to the existing CS2 cycle superhighway between Whitechapel and Bow. Work begins in February 2015 on a brand new north-south superhighway, which will join Elephant and Castle and King’s Cross.

Objections to the work mainly centred on the delays that introducing new cycle lanes would cause to existing commuter traffic, but planners came up with a way around the problem. They anticipate being able to reduce any delays by around 60 per cent by narrowing the ‘both ways’ cycle lane from 4m to 3m for short sections, at Temple, Tower Hill and in the Blackfriars underpass.

Mr Johnson was keen to reallocate space on central London roads in response to their changing use - the amount of vehicle traffic has fallen by 25 per cent in the last decade while the number of cyclists has doubled. Cyclists now account for a quarter of all traffic in central London in the morning rush hour.

The latest Crossrail for bikes plan is part of the Mayor’s £913 million ‘cycle revolution for London’. He had said that he wanted to reallocate space on the roads around central London, as amount of vehicle traffic has fallen by 25 per cent in the last ten years, in contrast to the number of cyclists which has doubled.

Cyclists now account for a quarter of all traffic in central London in the morning rush hour. He said: “I look forward to the transformation that these routes will bring – not just for people who cycle now, but for the thousands of new cyclists they will attract.

“Getting more people on their bikes will reduce pressure on the road, bus and rail networks, cut pollution, and improve life for everyone, whether or not they cycle themselves.”

Slips and Slides – how to keep walkways safe in winter

It’s a real dilemma – sometimes the winter weather looks so breathtakingly beautiful that you just have to go outside; but the pathways and pavements can be icy and treacherous.

Think about safety first

There is a whole range of products that have been designed to keep outside surfaces safe in the winter, but some of them can be dangerous, especially if you have pets to think about. Don’t be tempted to tackle icy patches on the garden path with antifreeze or de-icer spray if you or your neighbours have animals, because they are highly toxic to cats and dogs, and sweet tasting too, which is a double whammy. Some specialist products that are designed to give you traction on icy pavements may also contain solvents to prevent freezing, so be aware of this.

Easy problem solvers

The solution to your problem may be an easy yet probably quite inexpensive one, You can buy simple products like builder’s gravel, sand, and crushed shells for pathways, which are harmless for wildlife and pets, and also if you have a cat you could try using some of your grit-based cat litter to provide grip on surfaces that you don’t want to become slippery. All of these are suitable for use both before the snow falls, or afterwards.

Before the weather turns really bad, get a head start by keeping any areas prone to icing over as dry as you can, to keep the moisture from building up and freezing. If you can, cover any susceptible areas over.

To help you stay upright on others’ driveways on public pathways, you could also invest in studs or chains which you can slip over your shoes or boots. These give you the grip you need without needing to spread any extra products over your driveway.

Once the snow falls...

If it’s already snowed, and you want to avoid slipping over in it on your way out, make a pathway in the fallen snow with an old piece of tarpaulin, a few planks of wood or some plastic sheeting to provide a safe walkway when the rest of the ground is frozen. Keep this as dry as possible to avoid icing over.

You can defrost ice and melt snow by tipping a kettle of hot water over a path, a car windscreen or into frozen locks. However, this has its risks; hot water doesn’t stay hot for long in sub-zero temperatures so be careful you don’t end up with an ice rink and even more of a problem!

The Legacy of the Olympic Park on Urban Landscaping

The London 2012 Olympic Park, which has been officially renamed the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, is one of Europe’s most significant landscaping projects for over 150 years. The landscaping for the park created much-needed new parkland in addition to forming the centrepiece of the 2012 Olympic Games.

The legacy of the project has shown how a bigger vision for green infrastructure in a city like London can help to inspire regeneration and support other environmental markers such as meeting low carbon targets elsewhere too.

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park was the biggest urban park to be created in London since Victorian times, and it was a massive inspiration for those involved in work on regenerating other parts of east London. Since 2012, there are more new communities being planned and built, all of which offer housing, leisure and retail space for the area.

The park took more than four years to create, and the work included the demolition and then decontamination of over 2m tonnes of soil. From there, landscaped areas were created – a concourse, spectator lawns and individually landscaped areas like the London 2012 Gardens and Great British Garden. The Great British Garden was a feat in itself; it’s the largest wildflower meadow ever planted in the UK with more than 4,000 semi-mature trees.

The park certainly contributed to a change in public perception of what landscape architecture is. Not only did the park provide a place the UK could be proud of to showcase the Olympics but it also gave something back to the local community, a legacy that stretched further than the park itself which has gone on to influence a whole range of other landscape projects.

The long-term legacy of the Queen Elizabeth Park is a beautiful urban park which is rich in biodiversity and helps the community to reconnect with nature. This can only be a good thing; enhancing relaxation and mental wellbeing as well as giving people a place to go to improve their physical fitness and health.

The Olympic Park has a ‘Towards a 10-Year Landscape Management and Maintenance Plan’, which means that for every £1 the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) spent on venues, transport and infrastructure for the Olympic Games, 75p was spent on legacy.

Europe’s longest conveyor

A 6.2 km conveyor has been built in France for a French cement manufacturer. The conveyor belt, which is the longest in Europe, was installed in eastern France to help feed a cement plant, and was installed by Techmi, French experts in bulk handling, and their partners ContiTech.

The cement plant is owned by Vicat, in the small town of Montalieu. The owners were presented with a quandary – how could they transport limestone to the plant from the quarry when it was around 6.2km away from the plant? There needed to be a cost-effective solution, and Vicat embarked upon a project to develop a conveyor belt for the task.

Techmi won the project based on their successful quotation, and ContiTech were taken on as their strategic partners. ContiTech have many years of experience with conveyor belts which can negotiate bends and the company also produces high-quality eco-friendly products.

Requirements were tough, but the result has proved to be pretty impressive. The endless belt is in the region of 13km long and even does a twist and turn on the head and tail of the system to run parallel to the loaded belt on the return.

Based on a Techmi patent, concrete walls and a cover encase the entire conveyor, so that the system blends in with its surroundings. This also means that it’s possible for animals and vehicles to cross over safely.

ContiTech produced and delivered the belt within just five weeks. Thirteen 1km rolls, weighing 20 tonnes each, had to be shipped from Volos to Fos-sur-Mer (on the French Mediterranean coast) and then before being transported more than 360km to Montalieu, using heavy trucks.

Once the components reached Montalieu, the belt was assembled on-site.

“We did the job in two stages and spent a total of two months on location splicing the 13 sections of belt together in the middle of winter”, said Jan Poppe, head of field service international.

The 260-tonne conveyor belt is powered by three 250kW electric motors, and has been in use since mid-October. The belt transports limestone at a rate of up to 700 tonnes per hour in normal use – but at maximum capacity it can move as much as 1,000 tonnes per hour!

Putting the R in RAVENSCRAIG

Back in 2008, Cloburn was responsible for helping to create a modern work of art. We provided the aggregate to fill in the huge red letter R that was unveiled on the site of the old Ravenscraig steelworks in Motherwell, injecting some colour into the site and giving it a vibrant reminder of the old Ravenscraig corporate logo to look back on.

The massive red letter was a huge project in itself; it’s the size of 10 football pitches, and was originally created to be a part of the ongoing redevelopment of the area. It’s so big that it could even be seen on the London to Glasgow flight path! The installation took 2,000 tonnes of red aggregate from our quarry in Lanark, which was subsequently used in other construction projects on the site.

Murray Collins, of Capella Group said at the time: "The popularity of web-based satellite maps such as Google Earth has led to the growing phenomena of 'earth art' like the big 'r'." He added: "As well as demonstrating the ambition and confidence behind the redevelopment of the site, this project serves a serious purpose in signposting potential investors and partners towards Ravenscraig.

"There is nothing else like this in Scotland, which reflects the unique nature of the entire
Ravenscraig initiative."

Ravenscraig is still undergoing development, and is Scotland’s first new town in over 50 years. It’s also one of the largest urban regeneration projects in Europe. Once the project has been completed, the new town centre for Ravenscraig will feature around 1 million sq ft of retail, leisure, restaurant and community facilities in one of Scotland’s most accessible areas.

The ambitious regeneration of Ravenscraig has been contentious, but even so it’s expected to create 12,000 jobs and attract more than £1.2 billion of private sector investment over the next 15 - 20 years. To date, at least £200 million has been spent on the first phase of the regeneration with the creation of a brand new £30 million regional sports facility along with a new £70 million campus for Motherwell College and around 850 new houses.

The Many Uses of Cloburn Granitsand

The range of aggregates we offer at Cloburn is extensive, and covers everything from heavy duty construction products to our own very specialised type of bedding sand, which we call Granitsand.

We’re very proud of the fact that unlike some similar bedding sand type products, Granitsand is made here as a specific product and it’s not just the by-product of the Cloburn quarrying process. We manufacture our hardy Granitsand using a mechanical compression process, taking the hard rock from the quarries and crushing it down into tiny sand sized particles. It’s specially made for customers to buy as a landscaping material, and a fantastic, hardwearing material for builders, gardeners and landscapers everywhere that can be used in commercial grade concrete flooring, slabs and patios too.

Granitsand is a low maintenance solution to your landscaping needs, and like all of the Cloburn products, it doesn’t degrade over time. The attractive red hue also gives it a stand out appeal which will last for many years and not fade in time or due to bad weather.

Many landscape gardeners like to use bedding sand products such as Granitsand to help them create a nice even surface to base their DIY projects on. It can also be incorporated into garden paths and patios, where you only need an inch or so underneath the slabs to make a really good job. It’s not the type of sand that you put between the stones or slabs though, that’s joint sand.

We believe that our Granitsand stands out from the crowd simply because we don’t think of it as an afterthought. It’s not a waste product of mining that we’re selling to make a bit of extra profit, it’s a specially created and carefully produced product designed specifically for the purpose.

It’s also made from stern stuff; we make Granitsand from some of the strongest rocks in Europe, and using a specific manufacturing process that stops it deforming under compression – and we believe this is probably why it’s the preferred bedding sand all over the UK and Europe.

If you’re stuck for a Christmas gift for that special person, we can also gift wrap a specially designed red, green and white festive Granitsand just for you.

For more information about uses for Granitsand, give us a call.

Cloburn and the Borders Rail Link

We’re very excited here at Cloburn about the Borders Rail Link – partly because we think it’s going to be such an amazing addition to the area, but also because we’re proud to say that we’re playing a big part in the construction of the link – we’re the exclusive supplier of granite track ballast for the project.

It’s a huge project; the Borders Rail Link will be the longest new domestic railway to be constructed in Britain for over 100 years - that’s an awful lot of granite track ballast! The line is set to improve and strengthen existing travel connections which will hopefully improve opportunities in the future for employment, business, tourism and leisure. Better rail connections in the area are also going to be great news for helping to reduce the increasing problem of congestion on our main roads between the Borders and Edinburgh.

Optimistic reports have also suggested that building a reliable railway line could prevent up to six road accidents every year. The project is certainly coming along apace with the rails crossing into the Scottish Borders for the first time in 45 years on 5th November at Cakemuir Burn. This is a special milestone in the project as it marked the completion of the rail installation process through Midlothian. There are now tracks in place all along iconic Borders Railway structures like the Lothianbridge Viaduct near Newtongrange and the Hardengreen Bridge.

Now the rail is in place throughout Midlothian, it can be used to transport engineering vehicles, including the special trains that are needed to complete the track laying process, which install ballast and undertaking the process of ‘tamping’ - packing the ballast underneath the rail and sleepers. Councillor David Parker, leader of Scottish Borders Council said;

“Seeing the rails enter the Scottish Borders brings home the reality that trains will be running along the railway next September. The Scottish Borders is just months away from reaping the benefits of this investment that will encourage more visitors to our many attractions as well as boost the economic health of our towns and villages.

The History of Cloburn Quarry

Our quarries have been in use for well over a century, and their first recorded use played a big part in developing the Scottish transport infrastructure as we know it today.The first time that we know rock was ever extracted commercially from the site was back in 1896, when the deposits were used to provide track ballast for the new railway lines which were being built at the time.

 

Back in the Victorian era, the then Cairngryffe quarry was owned and operated by Lanark County Council. It was originally named after the hill which had formed the deposits.The council decided to close down the Cairngryffe quarry along with some other small quarries nearby in 1935, and installed a modern (for the 1930s) crushing, screening and asphalt coating plant at Cairngryffe in its place. For some time afterwards, every road in Lanarkshire was a vibrant bright red colour – very distinctive!

 

Cairngryffe carried on as a local authority quarry until it was taken over in 1986. The current operator replaced Tilcon at Cloburn quarry, which was located on the other side of Cairngryffe Hill, in 1982.

 

Today the two quarries have merged together, making them one of the UK's largest mainland quarries with an enviable history of supplying high quality granite aggregates to a wide range of customers throughout the UK, Europe and the Far East.

 

The future looks bright too; a recent planning grant has secured the future of Cloburn Quarry until well into the 21st Century.

British Aggregates Association Appeals to Transport Secretary over ‘Unnecessary’ Driver CPC

In a last-ditch bid to get the secretary of state for transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP,  to reconsider his decision, The British Aggregates Association (BAA) wrote to him demanding that he he suspend the “ill-considered and unnecessary” Large Goods Vehicle Certificate of Competence or DCPC .

BAA chairman and ex-haulier Robert Durward, owner of Cloburn Quarry, wrote to the MP: “I wish to complain in the strongest possible terms about the ongoing damage that is being inflicted on the transport sector by ill-considered and unnecessary legislation.

“The negative effects on the wider economy are going to be significant unless your department takes immediate action.”

The response from the secretary of state was less than satisfactory, according to Robert, who issued a press release stating that the Department for Transport (DfT) were in denial, because they were insisting that the DCPC was ‘wonderful’. The BAA disagreed in the strongest terms, and said that they only hoped that nobody famous was ‘flattened’ by a DCPC-qualified HGV driver as a result.

Robert is concerned that members of the BAA are already finding it difficult to source drivers, and believes that introducing the EU Directive-led legislation will force HGV-qualified drivers to retire or change careers – making it even harder for quarries to transport their deliveries.

 “This has got to get worse after the Driver CPC comes into force,” he told Commercial Motor. “Many quarries now have a waiting list for deliveries, which is unprecedented.”

He continued: “We are not against training but it has to be targeted and the sort of thing drivers aspire to,” adding that the current process was a box-ticking exercise. “While many drivers may not be academic, they take pride in their job and they have been grossly insulted [by the Driver CPC]. They have been told to sit in a classroom and be taught by someone that’s often [not] qualified.”

It seems that, according to industry experts like Robert Durward, this whole exercise is likely to cause economic damage, even possibly even lead to loss of life, and it’s all down to superfluous and badly designed legislation.

Whilst everyone in the BAA fully supports appropriate training, the worry is that the new legislation will force experienced HGV drivers, some with over forty years behind the wheel to give up driving, leading to a lack of qualified drivers and backlogs in deliveries that impact everybody.

Time will tell whether Robert’s predictions are correct, but the DfT don’t appear to be budging and so for now, the legislation is in force.

Come to Cloburn for your next construction project!

The Triangle, Swindon, with Gabion Walls.

If you’re looking for great quality construction materials for your next project, look no further than Cloburn Quarry. We’re famous for our red aggregate, which is popular all over Europe and the rest of the world, but we can also supply you with a wide range of excellent quality construction materials for your projects.
Some of the great products we have on offer include:

75mm Crusher Run – this is our all in 75mm down crushed granite product. It’s the biggest one we have in stock, but if you need anything bigger, just ask and we can source it for you. To use it, it needs to be laid no less that 125mm deep so that it can be compacted into an excellent quality load bearing body. You can also top it with our Type 1 sub base or the 10mm down Type 2.

Type 1 Sub-Base – This industry standard sub-base has a wide variety of applications. It’s a minus 35mm crushed and graded material, fully compliant with government and road authority specifications.

Type 2 sub-base – This sub-base is perfect for commercial car parks, and if an extra shot of decoration is needed, you could always use some of our attractive red granite Firechip™ for a deep red colour.
Scalpings – If you don’t need to use a certified product, this could be the product for you. Scalpings are a cost effective hard rock solution - a minus 30mm graded product.

Gabion Stone – Looking for filler for Gabion wire baskets or other projects? A staple for retaining walls, Gabion can also be used in hard landscaping and features. This type of stone was even used in The Triangle project in Swindon, featured in Kevin's Grand Design Programme on Channel 4. These crushed red granite mini blocks are perfect for the job at 200mm x 100mm

Type B filter stone – This type of aggregate is normally used by farmers and contractors to enhance the performance of field drains. Land drainage can help to combat waterlogging in fields and gardens, but it’s not the same as a soakaway, even though they are both used to disperse surface and/or ground water Size wise, ours is a 20mm – 12mm aggregate.

Pipe bedding –  this is a fine, protective aggregate that can be put into ditches and trenches to safely surround pipework, cables and ducts to guard them from damage. Our pipe bedding is also a bright red colour, making it an excellent safety feature and giving anyone who’s operating an excavation vehicle warning that they are close to pipe tracks.

Speak to us about anything you need for your construction projects and we’ll be delighted to help.

Unusual Golf Courses of the World

Imagine a golf course and you probably think of a perfectly manicured space, golf buggies and perhaps a smattering of Cloburn Firechip? Golf is becoming so popular now; it’s not just crazy golf courses that can leave you a little disoriented! Here are a few golf course facts that might make your head spin…

Your average round of gold might take a few hours to complete, but if you decide to take on the Nullarbor Links Course in southern Australia it would take you more like four days. The whole course actually spans two time zones, measures 848 miles in length and has holes situated at 18 towns and service stations along the Nullarbor Plain. Not for the faint-hearted.

If you like your golf hot, the Merapi Golf Course is perfect. The course is situated on the rim of the active Mount Merapi in Indonesia and as you would expect, comes with some breath taking views. There aren’t many golf courses next to active volcanos – if there’s an eruption perhaps the designers could incorporate lava hazards?

Heat not for you? Head to Uummannaq in Greenland and you can try your luck at the World Ice Golf Championships instead. The course is laid out on icebergs and you’ll need a few extra layers as the temperatures are usually below zero. Ice golf courses are shorter – nobody wants frostbite - but the rules are the same. The ball is bright orange though…

This one isn’t for wimps. If you’re feeling extremely brave (or foolhardy) you could attempt the Camp Bonifas course - Camp Bonifas is the closest military base to North Korea on the border in Panmunjom.  Dubbed the world’s most dangerous golf course, it consists of a single hole, par three which stretches 192 yards. I wouldn’t fancy my chances asking for my ball back….and watch where you walk; the fairway is ringed by landmines.

Be careful if you’re playing a round at the Lost City Golf Course in Sun City, South Africa too. There’s a real water trap at the 13th hole where you don’t want to lose your ball; you’ll have to compete with 38 crocodiles if you try to retrieve it. Not surprisingly, there are hundreds of lost golf balls in the water…and probably a few cross crocodiles, too.

Technically, golf has already been played on the moon when Astronaut Alan Shepard visited in 1971, and plans for an official course are under way. An enterprising Japanese company called Shimizu Construction has come up with a blueprint for a course on the moon, but we think the plans might be…wait for it…pie in the sky!

For more conventional golf courses, Cloburn has Firechip™ - popular with golf course designers for its bright red hue, weather resistance and durability. Although we wouldn’t recommend it for volcanoes or orbiting satellites…

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems

Something that you’ll need to carefully consider if you’re thinking of having a driveway put down is drainage, especially if you’re having a large area of front garden covered.

The flooding problems we’ve seen in recent years might be attributed to global warming and environmental changes, but we also have a part to play in causing the problems with urbanisation. Where there might once have been fields, woods and vegetation, we often have housing estates, and the lack of available ground for rain to soak into naturally has led to serious flash flooding after sudden rain. During storms and torrential rain events, high volumes of rain are directed into existing surface water drainage systems, which can lead to overloading and cause even more flooding.

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) are designed to replicate natural drainage with systems that make as little impact on the environment as possible, draining away dirty and surface water run-off which helps to counteract the effects of conventional drainage.

SUDS need to be easy to manage, use as little energy as possible to run (except natural energy like sunlight) be as resilient as possible, and also manage to be attractive to look at as well as nice to the environment.
If that sounds like a tall order, don’t worry. At Cloburn, we offer a range of quality granite aggregates which have been tailor made for Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) These help to provide a natural approach to managing drainage in and around properties, and work by slowing and holding back water that runs off, giving natural processes the chance to break down pollutants.

Since 2008 home owners have needed  to obtain planning permission for any project that involves paving an area of more than five square metres - unless permeable blocks and an approved drainage system is used. This is where Cloburn SUDS aggregates come in – nobody wants to go through the rigmarole of a planning application if they don’t have to!

Our drainage design is straightforward and reflects a natural system with low environmental impact which effectively drains away dirty and surface water and allows it to soak back into the ground. By doing this, the SUDS counters any negative effects of conventional drainage solutions, some of which may even make flooding and environmental pollution worse.

Cloburn aggregates for SUDS are available for all projects ranging from 1-3mm to 40mm single size.

Hampden Stadium ready for the Commonwealth Games

With the Commonwealth Games taking place this month, we’re relieved to hear that Hampden Stadium, which was once Scotland’s national football stadium, is now ready for the event which starts on 23 July.

Hampden Park venue will be the focal point for the event, which lasts for seven days. The Games will involve almost 50 track and field disciplines, which will be competed by more than 1,000 athletes.

We were interested in how the transformation from football to athletics stadium took place, especially as we supply our own sports surfacing product, the popular Cloburn Red Granite Cresta™. To transform the stadium, eight rows of seats were removed, and the surface was raised around two metres so that it had the correct dimensions for an athletics track.

Contractors then added an infield with freshly-cut grass, which has been placed on a temporary deck. The deck is a construction masterpiece which consists of a whopping 1,000 base panels which are supported by over 6000 steel stilts.

Glasgow 2014 Chief executive David Grevemberg was impressed with the work when he visited at the end of last month.  He told reporters;

"The spectacular transformation of Hampden Park from iconic football stadium to world-class athletics venue is an achievement of which Glasgow and Scotland can be justifiably proud.

"The completion of Hampden marks a very special moment in our journey to the starting line of what will be the biggest and best sporting festival Scotland has ever hosted."

It needed to be impressive of course; the crowd is expected to top 40,000 and organisers expect the Games to be watched by more than one billion people around the world.

The new track was tested by Team Scotland athlete Eilish McColgan who spoke about her excitement at hearing the ‘Hampden Roar’ from the Scottish athletics fans.

"Having the 'Hampden Roar' behind me as I push down the home straight will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I can't wait to give it my all and do my very best."

The running tracks will be relocated once the Games have closed, giving even more Scottish athletes a chance to train on a landmark track, and providing a legacy of the 2014 Games.

We know that everyone, whether competing in an International event or playing football for the school team, wants their sporting experience to be a good one – and Cloburn’s Red Granite Cresta™ is a popular solution for tennis courts, running tracks and football pitches.

Good news for Scottish exporters

Here at Cloburn, a major part of our business come from export, and we like to think that we’re a small part of the reason for the upturn in Scottish exports in recent years!  The Scottish Government has announced an ambitious target of increasing the value of Scottish exports by 50 per cent on 2011 levels to reach £33 billion by 2017, so export is a big subject for businesses at the moment.

We were interested to hear about the debate about how to encourage Scottish manufacturers to export more of their goods.  A review, which was published by the UK government, has recommended creating a signpost agency to all the advice and guidance needed, which would help companies who wanted to export their goods get easy and accurate access to the advice and support they need.

It’s always easier when the different agencies involved in a process like exports can work together, so on the face of it, this seems like a good idea.

One of the conclusions was that all agencies offering support to exporters really needed to sort themselves out and collaborate better, in order to give the companies who wanted to export their goods  a better service, and said that a ‘clear and comprehensible’ framework was needed, to give companies clear guidelines and better structure.

So, what’s the problem with the existing system? The fact that Scotland’s export market is doing so well would seem to show that we’re managing pretty well without any new government initiatives, but there is a lot of red tape involved and it can be daunting for new businesses trying to navigate all the regulations.

Brian Wilson, Chairman of Harris Tweed Hebrides (and UK business ambassador ) said that he thought the present system was too fragmented and that many companies were confused about who they needed to ask for advice on how to go about selling their products to an international market.  He suggested a brand new collaboration, called Scottish Exports, which would be the first port of call for anyone who wanted to export
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This ‘front door’ to advice would be a  partnership between Scottish Development International, UK Trade and Investment and the private sector, and it would be set up to make sure that companies were signposted to the right agency for their particular needs, which would avoid time wasting enquiries and unnecessary confusion.

What do you think? Would yet another agency just confuse things even more, or is it a good idea to have one place to go, which can then refer you on to someone else – the right agency - if necessary?

World Cup Fever!

It’s FIFA World Cup time - starting next week, and even though we didn't qualify this time around, we'll still be glued to it.

There have been a lot of stories in the media about the construction work on the stadiums for the games, in fact some reports are still saying that it’s not going to be ready for the big opening game on 12th June, but we’re sure that they’ll pull it out of the bag and surprise us all. Even if just last month, construction company Odebrecht were on record as saying that the roof at the Itaquerao stadium will only be completed after the World Cup. Oops.

According to reports, the pitches are looking good anyway, even though so far they’ve only had to stand up to kick-about matches between construction workers. Time will tell; we’ll be watching as many games as we can. We would have loved to have been chosen as a supplier for the pitch material, although that might have been a bit of a long shot for such a massive International event.

Our Red Granite Cresta™ is really popular with organisations building sports facilities, as it’s great for running tracks, tennis courts (it’ll be Wimbledon soon, too) and of course, football pitches. Back in the old days, the Scottish solution for football pitches was a type of colliery waste called blaes, but technology has moved on and we’ve produced a professional product which unlike its predecessor, won’t turn into mud when it rains!

Cloburn Red Granite Cresta™ is produced from hardy, super-strong granite that’s designed to withstand the wear and tear of tough sporting events, and another bonus is that it needs hardly any maintenance at all, except some occasional rolling, so you don’t have to make sure that it’s still useable after another bout of terrible weather. It’s cost-effective, making it another good choice especially for local authorities and schools, and of course it has the striking natural red colouring that improves over time, which we think adds a real touch of class to any surface. We think it would have looked fabulous in Brazil, but never mind.

Enjoy the football!