Aggregates can only be extracted where they are found. This means that quarries are often located in the countryside. However, quarrying is a temporary land use and progressive restoration, once extraction has been completed, means that sites are effectively ‘borrowed’.
CEMEX applies careful planning to ensure a balance between the need for raw materials and protection of the environment. The company’s standards of environmental performance are among the highest in the world. It includes rigorous day-to-day management of operations and high quality restoration of land that has been worked. More than £1.2 million is allocated to restoration projects every year.
CEMEX has succeeded in outstanding developments through partnership with various community groups, local authorities, commercial organisations, NGO’s and charities.
CEMEX restoration achievements:
Attenborough Nature Reserve, Nottinghamshire
Comprising over 365 hectares of flooded gravel pits, the reserve was the first to be established by the Wildlife Trust and is home to a wide range of aquatic and waterside habitats. The site, which was officially opened by Sir David Attenborough 40 years ago, includes a visitor centre which provides an array of facilities.
Eversley Quarry, Hampshire
This exceptional award winning development spans over 89 hectares and has been restored into a community leisure facility, which provides four diverse areas for a recreation and conservation - including a nature reserve, playing fields, a golf course and water sports club.
Lackford Lakes, Suffolk
After working in partnership with Suffolk Wildlife Trust since the mid 1980s, CEMEX has helped restore this scenic nature area into 12 lakes. The area covers an astounding 101 hectares of wetland, woodland, scrub and heath.
Angling
CEMEX Angling is the largest commercial angling organisation in the UK. It offers some 70 mature fish-filled lakes and 20 stretches of river with purpose-built disabled access available at the company’s day ticket fisheries. The restoration of CEMEX sites to create an environment where fish thrive, has won the company both national and international awards.
Marine Beach Replenishment
CEMEX plays a prominent role in replenishing Britain’s beaches and protecting the coastline from erosion, which is a growing problem as sea levels continue to rise. To tackle this, the company also provides additional sand and/ or gravel to engineering schemes that are designed to dissipate wave action. CEMEX has supplied material to raise the beach levels at Southwold in Suffolk, where of 85,000 cubic metres of sand and gravel were pumped ashore to enhance the beach at this popular sea-side town.
