Kitted out in hard hat and high visibility jacket, Derbyshire County Council leader Barry Lewis has visited one of the most important local employers and contributors to the county’s economy.
Councillor Lewis had a tour of Tarmac’s Tunstead site near Buxton, which employs around 400 people in its quarrying, lime production and cement manufacturing operations. These combined operations make Tunstead one of the largest sites of its kind in the UK.
Accompanied by the County Council’s head of planning services, David Arnold, Councillor Lewis was taken on a tour of the 340-hectare site by the company’s general manager for the stone and powders business, Pete Butterworth; and by strategic planning manager, John Bradshaw. As well as finding out more about the history of the site and business processes, he was also shown the restoration progress including tree planting and dry-stone wall installations.
Derbyshire County Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis said: “We’re committed to supporting local businesses that play a vital role through supplying other local, national and international companies and creating jobs for Derbyshire people.
“As one of the country’s leading suppliers of cement and aggregates for the construction industry and lime and lime-based products for the chemical industry in the UK, the operations at Tunstead are vital to Derbyshire’s economy. I was delighted to be invited to see for myself how the company, which has operated at the site for almost 100 years, contributes to the county’s growth and prosperity.
“I was also pleased to hear about the progressive restoration that is being undertaken throughout the site, part of which sits within the jewel of Derbyshire’s crown, the Peak District National Park, including habitat restoration and biodiversity management.”
Pete Butterworth added: “It was a pleasure to introduce Councillor Lewis and David Arnold to Tunstead site. It’s important that our local councils understand and are kept up to date on our operations. They were impressed with how well the site is managed and progressively restored, and they were particularly interested in the many varied products we make here, from lime for soil stabilisation to stone and cement for major construction projects around the country.”
Picture caption: Left – Right – Tarmac’s strategic planning manager, John Bradshaw; Derbyshire County Council head of planning services, David Arnold; Derbyshire County Council Leader Barry Lewis; and Tarmac’s general manager for the stone and powders business, Pete Butterworth