Covers Quarry, Westerham, Kent

Covers Quarry was first opened up in the early 1900s by the Squerryes Estate. In the 1950/60s the family run estate leased the quarry to Redlands Limited (now BMI Redland), who extracted the sand to supply their tile manufacturing facility. Responsibility for restoration was handed back to the estate in 2017.

The property has effectively been mothballed since this time, and the northern void has been allowed to be filled with water.

The objective of the extant planning consent is to stabilise and fully restore the area of past mineral workings.

There is no more mineral to be extracted and therefore through the tipping of 800,000m3 of inert construction waste, the intention is to improve instability, which is progressively creeping towards the M25, provide a permanent sustainable drainage scheme and create a landscaped landform that will benefit the wider landscape and biodiversity.

The planning permission includes the installation of a temporary access to the Beggars Lane/London Road roundabout. However, the preference is that the planning permission be varied to rely on the historic access to the south.

The planning permission has a 6 year life and following restoration of the site, there will be a requirement to enter into an aftercare agreement with the County Council.

The property is located to the west of the village of Westerham in Kent, near the towns of Biggin Hill and Oxted. The M25 runs along the property’s northern boundary, with Westerham Road (A25) providing access west to Junction 6 of the M25 and east to Junction 5. Residential properties associated with Westerham are situated to the east, whilst the surrounding land area is mostly in agricultural use. Within 1 mile to the west there is a semi-rural industrial estate and BMI Redland's Moorhouse Sand Pit.