Plans to extend a quarry in Powys that supplies stone for road surfacing in Wales and England has been approved by the county council.

A proposal to extend areas of Tan Y Foel Quarry in Cefn Coch, near Welshpool, that was first submitted in February 2023 was approved by Powys County Council on November 11, 2024.

The plans include an extension of the quarry extraction area and waste stone tipping area, deepening of the base of the quarry by two additional benches and progressive restoration to grassland, landscaped lake and woodland in the area.

Planning permission was first granted for quarrying at Tan-Y-Foel in 1948, with a new set of planning conditions being determined in 1997 after a review of the site was carried out to ensure it was not creating unnecessary environmental impact. A vertical and lateral quarry extension was made in 2013.

As part of the council’s delegated report, the reasons behind the extension and the site’s significance were laid out.

The report said: “The quarry is located within a rural area with the vast majority of the surrounding land use being dedicated to agriculture, with some isolated coniferous woodlands in the vicinity.

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“The primary mineral extracted from the site is gritstone, which in geological terms a form of sandstone rock found within part of the Penstrowed Grits Formation.

“The gritstone extracted from the site has an exceptionally high polished stone value (PSV), meaning it has a resistance to polishing which results in skidding. This property makes the stone highly desirable for use as road stone, with much of it being used for the construction of heavily utilised routes, such as motorways, A roads and trunk roads.

“The gritstone’s high PSV means there is a demand for it not only on a local and regional basis, but on a national one also.

“As a consequence of this material serving the local market, which given the site’s rural location is a pretty small market, this results in a large proportion of surplus shale being deposited in the tipping area which is to be extended as part of this application.”

The proposals do not involve changes to quarry operations such as hours of operation, output limits or an extension to the permitted end date of 31 December 2063.