Controversial quarry site near Lockerbie given green light
The councillors visited the site.
Last updated 1st May 2025
A controversial quarry development has been given the green light this week after conflicting councillors voted on the issue.
Eleven councillors and Dumfries and Galloway Council planning officer Robert Duncan attended the site on land at Cocket Hill near Hightae last Friday.
Having previously heard from the applicant, construction firm businessman Richard Nairn, who wants to start quarrying works at the site, aswell as a group of Hightae residents who are opposed to the move, the elected members visited to help make their minds up.
At the council’s planning committee on Wednesday, Dee and Glenkens Councillor Andy McFarlane proposed that the quarrying plans be approved, with certain conditions around development timescales and archaeology.
Meanwhile, Nith Councillor Keith Walters put forward an amendment calling for the plans to be refused, arguing that quarrying at this location would have a “significant adverse effect” on the regional scenic area.
Annandale South Councillor Sean Marshall supported this, saying that approving the quarry would have a major negative impact on roads in the area with the constant HGV traffic.
The council had also received 23 letters of objection from residents in Hightae, who live just one mile from the quarry location.
The motion won the vote 12-5, allowing the development to go ahead.
Businessman Richard Nairn, who runs R D Nairn Construction in Lochmaben, intends on kickstart quarrying work which he insists will boost the local economy, help address the region’s housing crisis, and support over 100 jobs directly and indirectly.
At a planning committee in February this year, Mr Nairn told councillors: “This quarry will help the local economy with the jobs it will create. In the quarry, we’re saying two or three (jobs) but on a larger scale with this quarry we can help control supply and cost.
“This will help us win more work, and we also build houses which is a big issue in the area. People want housing and it will help get more jobs off the ground because we can be more competitive.”
Mr Nairn added that his business supports all the major house builders in this region. However, other quarries cannot supply enough materials, particularly rock, to meet demand and support business in the whole area.
“We need this quarry as a control measure to help us win work and control the supply.”
Permission has also been granted for creating an access track, installing two metre high screening, a hardstanding area for storage of materials, the siting of a ‘welfare facility’, installation of a temporary septic tank and soakaway, and other associated works.
There are conditions in place around drilling operations, traffic plans, and safety provisions.