PLANS for a multi-million pound quarry in Irvine’s Bogside have been approved by council chiefs.

Around 33 full-time jobs will be created as a result of the development – which was granted planning permission after a near eight-year wrangle.

Brownfield regeneration company NPL – who also own the Big Idea and Irvine Harbour Company – are behind the project which will see sand and gravel excavated from the fields bordering Bogside Golf Club.

The planning application was first lodged in 2008 and NPL say they want to re-invigorate the area and take into account its industrial past.

Bogside was previously used to store explosives and and as a result the land went under significant re-landscaping.

NPL insist there is a “clear need” for additional sand and gravel reserves in Ayrshire to meet current demand.

A mobile plant, office units, pond settlements and stockpile areas will all be created but the company have also outlined a number of potential environmental concerns caused by extraction and haul road creation, including:

• Permanent and temporary direct habitat loss within the site

• Degradation of retained habitats

• Off-site habitat impacts due to effects on water quality and dust generation

• Impacts upon breeding birds and important breeding birds

But NPL insist they will attempt to mitigate these potential impacts by installing a wide-range of habitats to the land.

After lengthy consideration, North Ayrshire Council’s Planning Committee finally agreed to approve the plans subject to 34 conditions.

These include safe storage of chemicals, only working between 7pm and 7am Monday to Friday, hard surfacing the first 140 metres of access road before work is carried out and environmental checks.

A report presented to the council by NPL stated: “The current identified need for sand and gravel within Ayrshire is 500kt/year with a projected need increasing to 710kt/yr. 

“Current estimations are that reserves will be exhausted within three years if current needs are maintained. 

“A total of 350kt/yr sand and gravel is produced in Ayrshire which is suitable for construction purposes, although it is understood that at present 95 per cent of this resource is exported and supplies the Glasgow market needs. There is a growing gap of supply versus need.

“The sand and gravel quarry at East Garnock has the potential additional benefit as it will create jobs making a significant contribution to the local economy, and the restoration of the site will create a sustainable wetland habitat environment and mitigate the current industrial legacy and local blight.”

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council added: “It will help boost the local economy through job creation with around 33 full-time posts expected to be made available.”