DJA have assisted in securing planning permission for a lateral extension to Swanworth Quarry on behalf of Suttle Stone Quarries. Swanworth Quarry is a long-established stone quarry located in the Purbeck District of Dorset which produces a range of construction materials including various sizes of aggregate, gabion stone, rock armour, rockery stone and agricultural lime. The quarry is the only source of limestone aggregates in Dorset outside of Portland. 

The quarry is located within the Dorset AONB and Purbeck Heritage Coast designations, and is situated approximately 1.8km from the Jurassic World Heritage Coast World Heritage Site (WHS).

DJA were commissioned by Suttle Stone Quarries to carry out landscape and visual analysis for the extension site which covers an area of approximately 12 hectares and will release 2.4 million tonnes of limestone over approximately 20 years. 

DJA carried out terrestrial and marine visibility analysis of the likely effects of the extension to the quarry including those from key viewpoints within the AONB, Heritage Coast and WHS designations, and from the Purbeck Way long-distance footpath. DJA also produced photomontages of the temporary bridge over the Purbeck Way which will connect the extension site with the existing quarry.

The LVIA informed the landscape mitigation which includes the sequential extraction and restoration of the site and temporary screening bunds. In collaboration with the consultant ecologist, DJA developed restoration proposals for the extension area which include the creation of new habitats including ponds, calcareous grassland, woodland and scrub. These will provide an overall net gain in terms of biodiversity and nature conservation.

DJA also helped to significantly reduce the landscape compensation fund payment agreed with Dorset Council for the long term management of the local landscape.