The Customer

Bent Farm in Congleton is a working quarry site owned by Sibelco, a worldwide operation that mines, processes and sells industrial minerals. The site in question is currently producing silica, which is mainly used for construction, as well as the sports and leisure industry. Quarry boundary fencing is heavily regulated. All quarries must conform to the guidance laid out in the Quarries Regulation 1999, Regulation 16.

We have a great working relationship with Sibelco and have installed fences at many of their sites throughout the UK. It’s safe to say that we know the ins and outs of Regulation 16 well!

The Challenge

This job called for the installation of approximately 1000 meters of fencing that would form the new quarry boundary. The land surrounding the quarry is a working farm. Sheep graze in the fields and cattle are brought in for milking periodically throughout the day.

Quarry regulations are one of the main factors when working on a site like this. Each member of our staff must undergo a site-specific induction and must be CSCS qualified. They must also be trained in first aid and hold relevant operator tickets. All staff must also abide by the site’s PPE regulations.

A site-specific risk assessment and method statement is also required, these are produced by our Contracts Managers. Our Contracts Managers also work closely with the Quarry Manager, Planning Officers and Ecologists.

The Solution

This site was surrounded by a working farm so the safety of our staff and the farm animals was paramount. We established a good relationship with the farmer who offered for us to use his yard to gain access to one area of the site.

All of our Fencers hold the relevant qualifications and tickets for a job such as this. Our Fencers are kitted out with full railway specification PPE, this includes orange high-vis shirts and trousers, hard hats with visors, ear defenders, gloves and safety boots.

The Installation

For this installation, we used high-tensile stock netting from Tornado Wire which stands 80cm tall. We also added 2 strands of barbed wire, bringing the overall height of the fence to over 1 meter high. We installed an intermediate post every 3 meters, and a straining post a maximum of every 100 meters, or at every significant change of direction.

Multiple gates were installed on this site, all of which were 12ft galvanised field gates.

This installation of 1000 meters of stock netting took a team of 2 Fencers 1 week to complete. Equipment used on this job included our EVO1S Post Knocker, Telehandler and QuickFencer.

The Result

The quarry boundary has now been extended ready for the next phase of works and the surrounding farmer’s fields are safe for the animals to graze.

If you would like any further information on quarry boundary fencing or any kind of stock fencing, please give us a call and one of our experienced Contracts Managers will be happy to help.