Hope Construction Materials, Britain's leading independent supplier of aggregates and concrete, has announced the opening of its first new, greenfield quarry as part of its UK development plan.

Hope Chairman Amit Bhatia officially opens Black Cat Quarry,

alongside (L to R) Simon Bryant – Black Cat Quarry Manager,

Sean Hoare, Managing Director ECL Civil Engineering

and Lee Babb, Senior Buyer ECL Civil Engineering.

‘Black Cat’ Quarry on the A1 Black Cat roundabout near Roxton in Bedfordshire will supply more than 100,000t of sand and gravel each year to use in concrete for building and construction across the Northern Home Counties.

The new quarry represents a GBP1.5m investment by Hope - the industry’s newest player - including a state-of-the-art sand and gravel processing plant.

The opening of this development will help ensure a supply of aggregates to Hope’s numerous readymix concrete plants in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, as well as sand and gravel into the regional market. It also complements Hope’s existing operations at Willington – concrete, aggregates recycling and landfill of inert wastes.

ECL Civil Engineering is the first customer to purchase the new sand and gravel which will be used for major house building projects in the region.

As the Black Cat site is progressively worked, Hope Construction Materials will complete a phased restoration to enhance local biodiversity in keeping with the Bedfordshire and Luton Biodiversity Action Plan and the West Anglian Plain Natural Area. The company has also made an ongoing commitment to restoration work to improve flood relief around the River Great Ouse.