What to do with Old Empty Quarry

MagicManCan

Hi All,

Firstly Mods if you feel this isn't the correct place for this post please move it.

I'll be inheriting some land in Co. Roscommon in the coming months and I'm at a loss as to what to do with it. It consists of the following.

1. 8 aces of poor grass land (It does have about 300M of good road frontage on a national Road)
2. 20 Acres of an old quarry that was never back filled.

All this land is in one parcel. I'll have no use for any of this land so I'm currently looking at two options really.

The first is too possible sell two sites along the national road and then sell the rest as is.

The second is to sell the whole lot as it if that would even be possible (Don't see there being much interest in an old quarry).

Would anyone here have any advice or other ideas on what to do with this land. E.g maybe look at back filling the land (The Cost would be an constraint here i'd imagine). Also the quarry section does have a good few hollows that could be filled with rocks etc, would it be a runner to look at asking the council/builders if they've any rocks/gravel that they would like to get rid off to fill these?

Thanks for reading!

sheriff2

With the amount of construction going on now, id imagine the quarry would be snapped up by a waste management company. Could be ideal for landfill pending planning applications

MagicManCan

sheriff2 wrote: »

With the amount of construction going on now, id imagine the quarry would be snapped up by a waste management company. Could be ideal for landfill pending planning applications

Thanks for your reply. I've never though of that. I guess I assumed that due to the rural location it would reduce the appeal for such an enterprise.

davidk1394

If there is easy access and the hole is big enough, it could be reinstated. Different regulations and requirements in different counties. Not much other options for it,

tanko

Whatever you do, don't go asking the council or any builders or anyone else if they'd like to dump any boulders or gravel in the quarry.
Half the rubbish in Connacht will be dumped there the next day.

MagicManCan

tanko wrote: »

Whatever you do, don't go asking the council or any builders or anyone else if they'd like to dump any boulders or gravel in the quarry.
Half the rubbish in Connacht will be dumped there the next day.

Thanks for the reply, this is something i'd worry about alright. I'd nearly need to be there inspecting each load to have piece of mind about what would be going in.

davidk1394 wrote: »

If there is easy access and the hole is big enough, it could be reinstated. Different regulations and requirements in different counties. Not much other options for it,

Sorry if this is a silly question but what do you mean by reinstated?

wrangler

MagicManCan wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, this is something i'd worry about alright. I'd nearly need to be there inspecting each load to have piece of mind about what would be going in.

You;ll have to get a license, a neighbour with a quarry is taking about 50 artic loads a day here( south westmeath), if you don't get a license they'll charge you per ton to take it out and it has to be clean rubble, no rubbish

sheriff2

MagicManCan wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. I've never though of that. I guess I assumed that due to the rural location it would reduce the appeal for such an enterprise.

All landfills can only take a certain amount of waste per year. There are lorries going from Dublin to Galway landfills

smokingman

Build your own Batcave! G'wan, you know you want to!

Anto_Meath

It is possible that it could have a use as a land fill for taking site clearance, (as everything on a building site that cant be reused on that site is now regarded as waste) this would involve an application to the local council for a land fill licence. There is different thresholds as to what is needed depending on the amount of fill required. If you could get it filled so that tractors could travel it and animals could graze it while at the same time getting paid to take in the fill then it could be a worth while investment. You best bet would be to talk to a local engineer and see what would be involved in make the application and if he had any idea what the demand would be like locally.

Roadtoad

MagicManCan wrote: »

I'll be inheriting some land in Co. Roscommon in the coming months .....

Ask not for whom the bell tolls.

djmc

there is a crowd in cork that got an old quarry full of water and turned it into a watersports activity centre

Odelay

sheriff2 wrote: »

With the amount of construction going on now, id imagine the quarry would be snapped up by a waste management company. Could be ideal for landfill pending planning applications

Was told years ago that a big hole can be a valuable asset.

Aravo

The N5 is due to be upgraded. If your old quarry was near the route it could be filled. And the bonus would be that the contractor would look after things, planning, filling, topsoiling etc. Otherwise you could be looking at it for a long time. Also what neighbour wants to be looking at builders turning up over the next x amount of years. How long ago was this place a quarry, is it planning exempt. If not do any planning conditions still apply. Primetime on Wed at 9.30pm is about quarries. I bet flouting planning, environmental issues will arise aplenty all over the country.

Who2

Turn it into an off road track for 4x4’s. Old queries are ideal. I know a lad who used to winter cattle in an old quarry it was a great spot , cattle were clean and healthy. There’s some filling on twenty acres, is the quarrie completely spent?

_Brian

Who2 wrote: »

Turn it into an off road track for 4x4’s. Old queries are ideal. I know a lad who used to winter cattle in an old quarry it was a great spot , cattle were clean and healthy. There’s some filling on twenty acres, is the quarrie completely spent?

Insurance for anything bringing on the general public is becoming a nightmare.

unhappyBB

djmc wrote: »

there is a crowd in cork that got an old quarry full of water and turned it into a watersports activity centre

Came here to suggest exactly this. Or maybe add some diving boards and become Irelands only official RedBull Cliff diving training centre

Odelay wrote: »

Was told years ago that a big hole can be a valuable asset.

:D:D:pac::pac:

Who2

_Brian wrote: »

Insurance for anything bringing on the general public is becoming a nightmare.

Positivity Brian. Insurance has got strong but there are still options out there. People have made a success out of less.

Jb1989

Who2 wrote: »

Positivity Brian. Insurance has got strong but there are still options out there. People have made a success out of less.

Very true

MagicManCan

Who2 wrote: »

Turn it into an off road track for 4x4’s. Old queries are ideal. I know a lad who used to winter cattle in an old quarry it was a great spot , cattle were clean and healthy. There’s some filling on twenty acres, is the quarrie completely spent?

Hi,

Yeah it's empty except for some mounds of silt and a some top soil left behind.

MagicManCan

Aravo wrote: »

The N5 is due to be upgraded. If your old quarry was near the route it could be filled. And the bonus would be that the contractor would look after things, planning, filling, topsoiling etc. Otherwise you could be looking at it for a long time. Also what neighbour wants to be looking at builders turning up over the next x amount of years. How long ago was this place a quarry, is it planning exempt. If not do any planning conditions still apply. Primetime on Wed at 9.30pm is about quarries. I bet flouting planning, environmental issues will arise aplenty all over the country.

Who would I need to get onto to discuss something like this, is it the local county council?

Anto_Meath

MagicManCan wrote: »

Who would I need to get onto to discuss something like this, is it the local county council?

Not the council, try and see if you can find out who has been awarded the contract for the works. The Wills Brothers seem to get a lot of them contracts and I think they are base over that side so it could be them. They are also very good to deal with.

MagicManCan

Anto_Meath wrote: »

Not the council, try and see if you can find out who has been awarded the contract for the works. The Wills Brothers seem to get a lot of them contracts and I think they are base over that side so it could be them. They are also very good to deal with.

Ok, thanks a million for the info. Really appreciate it.

Aravo

MagicManCan wrote: »

Who would I need to get onto to discuss something like this, is it the local county council?

Contact the council and get a route map for the N5. If your not near it, it's not for you. As for contractors, a signed agreement is required so everyone knows what's required.

Why not sell this disused quarry if you don't want it.

enricoh

Could be a gold mine the quarry if you got a license. It's big money now to dump an 8 wheeler- that's if you can find somewhere!
Probably 101 certs needed nowadays though

Oh and zero days credit!

looksee

Look at the county plan and see what zone you are in. If you are in a commercial or amenity area then you are good. Have a pre-planning meeting and see if planning for houses might be considered a possibility. If both these come up negative then just sell as is and get the best price you can.

Lime Tree Farm

Nov 1st 2019
https://www.bamireland.ie/2019/11/01/bam-wills-jv-awarded-contract-for-n5-westport-to-turlough-road-oct-29-2019/


http://www.regdesign.com/pdf%20files/n5westport-turlough/brochures/n5-westport-to-turlough-road-project-design-brochure.pdf

Aravo

OP very hard to get planning on a national road. If your within a speed limit zone then it's easier. Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) will appose if not in a speed limit zone. Also planning may be difficult if the area has a housing need policy.

beauf

It's it suitable for Rick climbing or bouldering?

Castlekeeper

Check with local NPWS wildlife ranger, there's protected rock faces around here for the nesting sites of Peregrine falcons.

kk.man

I would have given my right hand a for a quarry like that a few years ago. I always envied ppl that had them because a great place to store cattle over the winter cheaply. No straw, no cleaning out and no expensive sheds. A bale of silage in a circular feeder and the cattle would be dry and happy.
It wouldn't work nowadays with nitrates and all.

looksee

kk.man wrote: »

I would have given my right hand a for a quarry like that a few years ago. I always envied ppl that had them because a great place to store cattle over the winter cheaply. No straw, no cleaning out and no expensive seeds. A bale of silage in a circular feeder and the cattle would be dry and happy.
It wouldn't work nowadays with nitrates and all.

A bit off topic but genuine question - what happens to all the slurry, and wouldn't it hold rain, even to a limited extent, depending on the layout of course.

kk.man

looksee wrote: »

A bit off topic but genuine question - what happens to all the slurry, and wouldn't it hold rain, even to a limited extent, depending on the layout of course.

If it's sandy ground it would not hold rain or slurry or at least not for long. If there was a pond there cattle would not go into it as a general rule.

looksee

Yes, it depends on what was being quarried. If it was sand, as you say it would drain (where?), but if it were a rock quarry there would not be much drainage. Anyway it was just a somewhat off topic passing thought.

patsy_mccabe

Castlekeeper wrote: »

Check with local NPWS wildlife ranger, there's protected rock faces around here for the nesting sites of Peregrine falcons.

Fastest animal on the planet - 390kph. Found that out last night. Every day's a school day on Youtube.