FACING THE HS2 AGGREGATE CHALLENGE


With the momentum behind HS2 building, Finning News continues its series of articles about the project, focusing in this edition on the ‘Aggregates Challenge’, catching up with Mike Phillips, General Manager of the Institute of Quarrying. Mike: “You only have to look at the recent HS2 announcement of a projected 25,000 jobs being created during its construction, to see just how much investment will be needed in the whole of the industry to deliver the project. But for the UK quarry sector, which has an opportunity to deliver a variety of aggregates, including the high-grade 700,000 cubic metres of surfacing materials required for the project, the challenge is significant. 


“As I know from talking to our members, turning on the aggregates tap is not straight forward, equally when HS2 is over, potentially having to ramp down production could be as equally difficult. So ensuring the UK quarry sector can benefit from HS2, whilst continuing to plan for a sustainable future, is critical. 


“What the industry needs now is information and a much greater visibility of demand, proposed logistics, the range and quality of materials and how the aggregates part of the project is to be phased and managed. 

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