Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Lafarge group is to appear on this Sunday’s BBC1 Countryfile, the flagship Sunday evening programme which covers people and places making news in the countryside.
The programme shows presenter Ellie Harrison exploring key parts of the National Forest, specifically the creation of the National Memorial Arboretum on restored former Lafarge gravel quarry workings.
During the filming Harrison watched Lafarge’s current quarrying operation near Alrewas, and learnt how Trent Valley sand and gravel has been quarried here by Lafarge for over twenty years. Opened only nine years ago, the Arboretum is part of The Royal British Legion family of charities. Over 150 groups, military and other, are represented at the site.
It employs over 25 people, has over 120 regular volunteers and is completely free to enter. Visitor numbers have increased significantly since the opening of the Armed Forces Memorial in late 2007, with 300,000 people passing through its gates every year.
Ross Halley, Lafarge’s senior planning and estates manager, said: “The close proximity of the Alrewas quarry and processing plant to the Arboretum provides every visitor with a visual reminder of the site’s recent history. Many of the visitors will leave realising that the creation of such a site would not have been possible without a true partnership approach to restoration.”
