Monday September 7th 2026
Glenfinn Quarry, Berwickshire
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
Go-ahead was given today for the operators at a Berwickshire quarry to dig deeper.
Glenfinn Quarry is an existing hard rock quarry which has operated for 30 year and is located 2.5km to the south-east of Cockburnspath.
Following changes to increase the annual volume of mineral that can be extracted and the ability to use controlled pop-blasting its operator Tyneside Roadstone Ltd can now lower the floor level by a further 26m below the consented limits.
The quarry will continue to be operated in a downwards, benched manner towards a new lower floor level.
When members of Scottish Borders Council’s Planning and Building Standards Committee met on Monday, September 7, they raised no objection to the plan.
The SNP’s Councillor Marshall Douglas, who represents Tweeddale East, said: “This application has merit and I don’t think there is any issue with it. It is allowing a well established business to continue doing what it is doing.
“There is no increase in the rate of extraction and it is using the existing footprint as such so I don’t have any objection to it.”
Councillor Donald Moffat, SNP for Mid-Berwickshire, agreed, adding: “Thirty years is a long time to have a quarry going. It’s basically the same number of years I have been a councillor come next year.
“In all that time we have never had any complaints about this quarry and everything in the report points to it being well managed. It’s an efficient operation.”
In order to reach the new lower floor levels, the extent of the quarry area is required to be increased where it will extend into part of the area where the south-western amenity bund is located, and was sited to screen the quarry from Ewieside hillfort.
In his report to members planning officer Scott Shearer recommended approval of the application, stating: “While the floor level of the quarry is proposed to be lowered, the applicants have advised that their operational changes and more efficient working practices allows them to reach these lower levels without extending the operational life of the quarry or exceeding the current extraction limits.
“The proposed changes all take place within the site area of the current permission and do not result in the expansion of the quarry into any surrounding land.
“The proposed development does not affect any other archaeological or built heritage assets, including any direct impacts to Ewieside hillfort.”
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