More underground operations at Stoke Hill Mine near Bath have been permitted.

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Stone from the mine at Midford Lane at Limpley Stoke is used extensively in the Bath and Bristol area, as well as across the UK.
Stoke Hill Minerals Ltd, under the trading name of Bath Stone Company, applied to Bath & North East Somerset Council to vary a planning condition which has prohibited underground processing of extracted stone.
Until now, only block stone has been removed from the mine while other material, such as offcuts or fractured stone, has been left underground and used to backfill worked-out tunnels and areas.
However, this stone could otherwise be able to be used for a variety of purposes, including for walls, decorative aggregates or agricultural lime, and sold locally.
A report prepared in support of the planning application highlighted that the stone doesn’t serve any purpose underground and that the build-up is reducing operational areas, making movement of plant and general operations more difficult.
Misshapen blocks are presently transported to the northern Cotswolds for processing. The ability to process these blocks underground would prevent the need for this, reducing HGV miles and emissions on the local road network, the report said.
The reason for the condition was to retain control over the expansion of stone processing activities at the site, which is in the Green Belt and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
However, the report noted that underground processing, which is not visible nor audible at surface level, does not and would not have any impact on either the AONB or Green Belt.
Neither would further underground processing of this ‘waste’ stone have any negative impact on the mine’s bat population.
B&NES planners agreed to the request. The amount of mineral stone extracted annually from the site cannot exceed 18,000 tonnes to minimise disturbance caused by surface operations in the area.
Permission expires at the end of 2042 to provide for the long-term security of the supply of the stone.