As local residents will be aware, Bayston Hill Quarry blasts rock on a regular basis. To reduce the potential impact of the blast there are set rules in place that dictate when the site is allowed to blast, however varying environmental and weather conditions can impact how much the blast is felt.
Shropshire Council has set a Peak Particle Velocity Limit (PPV) for the site, which is a measure of ground vibrations from the blast. The limit for Bayston Hill quarry is 4.0mms-1 for a vibration wave.
Ian Knott, works manager at the quarry said: “To monitor the vibrations caused by the blast we usually use a vibrograph at the closest sensitive property to the blast location. This is the standard industry approach which requires us to visit a location, set up the device, wait for the blast and then bring the equipment back to a computer to process the data.
“We have completed this process at both Vicarage Court near Sharpstone Lane, Betton Strange apartments and Sharpstone lane to ensure that the vibrations in all locations are note above the set limits. “
In August 2020 the quarry started working with EPC, their contracted blasting partner, to look at a permanent monitoring solution.
Ian continues: “We have now installed a fixed monitoring station at the Bretton Strange Apartments so that we can continually monitor the impact of the blasts.
“As well as ensuring that the blast meets the conditions of our planning permission, we can also now analyse the data to find out in which conditions our neighbours feel the explosion. We will then be able to use this data to minimise how much residents feel the blasts in the future.”