GO-AHEAD is being sought to significantly increase extraction rates a quarry near a Berwickshire village.

Glenfinn Quarry is an existing hard rock facility which is located 2.5km to the south east of Cockburnspath.

The application site includes the existing quarry and also land to the south west through Gledstane Forrest and towards Ewieside Hill where planning permission has been obtained to extend the quarry.

The proposal submitted to Scottish Borders Council requests that the volume of extracted material is increased from 100,000 tonnes per annum over any period of three year to 175,000 tonnes per annum over the same period.

When members of SBC’s Planning and Building Standards Committee meet on Monday, December 4, they will be recommended to approve the proposal.

In a report to the committee, Scott Shearer, SBC’s principal planning officer, says: “This proposal would effectively increase the speed of extraction but would not affect the overall level of material which will be extracted over the life of the quarry.

“This change has been driven by the sale of the quarry to a different operator. The working processes of the new operator would increase the efficiency of the volume of minerals which can be extracted and processed at the site.

“Increasing the volume of material which can be mined and exported from the quarry will respond to market demand for building material where required and help to further boost the economic impact of the development.”