Quarry story to get one final chapter
THAT endangered species, the working granite quarry, retreated from extinction last week with news that a planning framework has been completed for Chouet headland.
The north-western tip of the island has been earmarked for ‘mineral extraction’ since the Island Development Plan was signed off in 2016.
It is, we are told, the last economically viable spot for granite quarrying left in the island once Les Vardes has been worked out.
The story of Les Vardes goes back 200 years to the golden era of an industry which helped inspire the tale of Ebenezer Le Page and, in a very real sense, shaped the Bailiwick of today.
Not only that, the stone that was extracted by an astonishing 250 active quarries in operation in the 19th century also shaped some of the great infrastructure of London.
Blackfriars Bridge, London Bridge, the Strand and the Thames Embankment were all dressed in the finery of Guernsey granite as, famously, were the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral using blue stone said to be from Crevichon, the previously much larger islet off Jethou.
Over the centuries the export market has dwindled and now Les Vardes produces 125,000 tonnes of granite a year for the domestic market.
Even at that rate, stone reserves at the huge crater will be worked out by mid-2021 unless Ronez move the quarry processing plant and free up another four years’ supply – 490,000 tons – underneath.
Regardless, within a few short years, Les Vardes will be finished. There can be no further extension and, unless a new quarry can be opened, the island that once paved the streets of London with Guernsey gold will be reduced to importing its aggregates for the construction industry.
Depending on how busy that industry is, Chouet headland could supply more than three decades of blasting and work for 15 quarry staff and associated industries. Even with five old quarries having already been started, plus the oil-filled Torrey Canyon quarry, the headland’s 3.5 to 4.1 million tonnes will provide stone for generations.
There is a price to pay. The shooting club, the model aeroplanes and a nearby house will need to move, as will the green waste plant and bring bank.
It will all be part of the next chapter of Guernsey’s explosive quarrying history.