40 50 60 70 80 90 400000 10 20 30 40 50 60

CLAY AND SHALE, INCLUDING FIRECLAY COALBED METHANE 4 SAND & GRAVEL National Park boundary 00

Two main categories of sand & gravel resources are defined: Measures mustone and fireclay are the principal clay resources in the area and their extent is largely coincident with opencast coal Methane contained within coal seams is known as coalbed methane and is a potential source of energy. 0 20 km resources. Coal Measures mudstone is produced at Red Barns Quarry in to supply the plant, west of Newcastle, with However, the gas content of the in Northumbria are too low for commercial coalbed methane Hydrocarbon Well ENVIRONMENT (1) Superficial (drift) deposits, further subdivided into (a) river sand & gravel, (b) glacial sand & gravel, (c) marine and estuarine sand & gravel and red-firing clays for facing brick manufacture. A small brick plant at Swarland, near Rothbury, also producing red-firing is based on locally production. TRANSPORT (d) beach and blown sand deposits. produced glacial clay. 6 Distribution of Coal Measures 6 EGIONS 50 50 R CONVENTIONAL HYDROCARBONS (Westphalian) in Fireclays typically occur beneath coal seams and resources are, therefore, confined to coal-bearing strata. Originally fireclays were valued as (2) Bedrock (solid) deposits represented here by the Permian Basal Sands. refractory raw materials but only small amounts of fireclay are now used for refractory applications. Some fireclays have relatively low iron The Carboniferous Northumberland Trough has gas-generating potential but oil-generating potential has contents compared with other brickmaking clays and they are valued for the production of buff-coloured bricks and pavers. They are often Concealed Coal Measures Superficial deposits not been proven. Much of any oil or gas, which may have been generated, may have already been lost blended with red-firing clays to give a range of colours. The close association of fireclay and coal means that opencast coal sites are one of the NORTHUMBERLAND AND TYNE & WEAR and, with a lack of good reservoir rocks, the prospects are not encouraging.

few viable sources of fireclay. Fireclay resources are thus coincident with opencast coal resources, although because of quality considerations, n n River sand & gravel n n n

60 n 60 mainly levels of carbon, sulphur and iron, only a small number of fireclay seams are usually workable. The Northumberland coalfield is an n (comprising Northumberland, Northumberland National Park Post glacial river terrace and alluvial deposits are developed along the major river valleys such as the Breamish, Tyne, Coquet and Till. important source of fireclay, which is used mainly in buff brick manufacture and on modest scale for refractory applications. HYDROCARBON WELLS OF NORTHUMBERLAND , , South Tyneside Fluvioglacial sands and gravels may also occur beneath these deposits, and quarry operations generally extend down to these deposits.

River gravels are generally well sorted, well rounded and of a high commercial quality. In the Breamish, Coquet and Wooler Water valleys, pink Newcastle - upon - Tyne and ) sand & gravel derived from the Cheviot complex is regarded as a first class concreting aggregate. Terrace deposits are generally well-to fairly 1 LONG HORSLEY 13 HARTON DOME 1 well-graded with a moderate fines content. Narrow belts of flood plain gravel are also common in valleys. LIMESTONE Operator : Candecca Resources Operator : BP A Summary of Mineral Resource Information Start date : 10.07.1986 Start date : 23.01.1960 Fluvioglacial sands and gravels, generally thicker deposits than river alluvium, have been partially, but imperfectly, sorted by streams issuing from Carboniferous limestones occur in a cyclical sequence of limestone, mudstone and sandstone beds (the so-called ’Yoredale facies’). The Tested : Stainmore Group Tested : Permian, Coal Measures, for Development Plans the melting glaciers. The largest spread of such deposits in north-east is near Wooler, where extensive terraces of sand & gravel up to 9 limestones are usually less than 10 m thick and, therefore, are too thin to support a modern quarrying operation. Consequently they have mostly Liddesdale Group Stainmore Group, Liddesdale Group m in thickness occur. Terraces are also present along the and its tributaries. The deposits tend to be regular in depth and been excluded from the mineral resources map except where closely associated with the Whin Sill. The main exception is the Great Limestone Scremerston Coal Group ? Upper Border Group composition, and contain a high proportion of gravel, much of the finer material having been washed out. The terrace gravels consist mainly of which is sufficiently thick (up to 20 m), extensive and consistent in quality to form a workable resource. It is worked at two sites in the southern Fell Sandstone Group Total depth : 1769 m Mineral Resources (North) Cementstones Group Test results : Water produced from 3 Carboniferous sandstones with some Lower Palaeozoic greywackes, some limestone and igneous rocks. part of the county for crushed rock aggregate. Total depth : 1828.8 m sandstone intervals Test results : Not tested Status : Plugged and abandoned Scale 1:100 000 Glacial sand & gravel Dolomites, dolomitic limestones and limestones of Permian age (the Magnesian Limestone) occur in the south-east corner of the area. The Status : Plugged and abandoned dry hole Magnesian Limestone is highly variable in its physical, mechanical and chemical properties. It is inferior to Carboniferous limestones as a source Compiled by A.J. Bloodworth, D.J. Harrison, D.G. Cameron, S. Holloway, K.A. Linley The largest group of sands and gravels in north-east England are ice-contact sediments laid down by streams flowing on the tops of, within and of aggregate, because of its variable character, lower strength and higher porosity and is generally used for sub-base material and fill. Regionally 2 1 and E. Hough. beneath ice sheets. These deposits commonly occur as lenses either within, or beneath till (boulder clay). The composition and thickness of it forms an important aggregate resource. The Upper Magnesian Limestone is worked at Marsden Quarry, in , for roadstone, fill lkh Operator : Safari Oil Co. these deposits is highly variable, although characteristically sandy, except in the Tyne Valley where gravels predominate. They may also grade and agricultural use. Project Leader: D.E. Highley. Start date : ? August 1967 6 6 into till as fines content increases. Impersistent glacial beds may reach a thickness of up to 30 m in the Tyne Valley. Tested : Coal Measures, Staimore Group 00 00 Planning Consultant: J.F. Cowley, Mineral and Resource Planning Associates. Liddesdale Group, Upper Border Group Digital Cartography by S.E. Wood, British Geological Survey, Keyworth. Parts of the area assessed for sand & gravel by the BGS are identified on the map. Within these areas, the extent of sand & gravel, including the True vertical depth : 2015 m possible extent of glacial sand & gravel beneath till, is shown. Outside resource assessment areas, data are more limited and only glacial sand & Test results : Not known if tested Status : Plugged and abandoned gravel at outcrop is shown. Resources concealed beneath till may be extensive in some areas. 1

Production of this map was commissioned and funded by the Department of Marine and estuarine sand & gravel

the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Contract MP0624) Within the Morpeth area, these resources are shown in the estuaries of the Blyth and , where they consist of silt, pebbly clay and sand 50 & gravel. 50

Beach and blown sand PEDL28

Scremerston Sand Pit (Sg) ROC Beach deposits are found along the length of the Northumberland coast, often backed by sand dunes. They are generally clean fine- and 2 SAND & GRAVEL medium-grained sands of uniform grading, used for concreting and building sand. No beach deposits are currently worked. Blown or dune sand deposits are of variable thickness and consist of uncemented fine- to medium-grained sands. Dunes are rarely worked because of conservation Superficial deposits considerations.

River sand & gravel resources Bedrock deposits 3

The Permian Basal Sands have a small outcrop in the extreme south-east of the area, where they crop out intermittently along the base of the Concealed river sand & gravel resources in assessed areas Permian Magnesian Limestone escarpment and dip to the east beneath the limestone. They are currently unworked, unlike in neighbouring Durham, where they form an important source of building sand.

Glacial sand & gravel resources 550 550 Concealed glacial sand & gravel resources in assessed areas BUILDING STONE

Sandstones of Carboniferous age, primarily sandstones of the Carboniferous Limestone (Dinantian), Stainmore Group (Millstone Grit - Namurian) Marine & estuarine sand & gravel resources and the Coal Measures (Westphalian) are the principal building stone resource in Northumberland and the Tyne & Wear area. They satisfy the accepted criteria for building stone use such as strength and frost resistance (low porosity), durability and hardness (well cemented and resistant 400 mineral framework), size of block, based on thickness of the bed, and aesthetic qualities such as colour and texture. Blown sand and raised beach deposits Demand for stone is currently concentrating on sandstones of uniform colour (buff, pale yellow and grey) and fine- to medium- grain-size. Coarser granular and pebbly sandstones or gritstones which were once widely used are now generally less commonly worked. As the stone Barmoor quarries are often small, the extent of the resource is not shown on the map. Despite this, the quarries are commercially important and their Hill (Lst) Kyloe (Ig) Boundaries of areas assessed for sand and gravel at the indicated COAL 40 resource level product is widely used in the north-east, and also in the towns of the Borders and southern Scotland. Quarrying of sandstones has been carried 40 out since at least Roman times and blocks can be seen in Hadrian’s Wall. Production reached a peak in the 19th to the early part of the 20th Aegiranum Marine Band centuries, with many quarries operating in and around Newcastle and Gateshead, of which only Springwell remains in production. Demand is Coal-bearing strata occur at a number of horizons in Northumberland in rocks of both Bedrock deposits rising as natural stone is specified, mainly on aesthetic grounds, for new buildings in the area. Sandstones from quarries in the Stainmore Group Upper Carboniferous (Namurian and Westphalian) and Lower Carboniferous (Dinantian) Coals such as Darney, Bearl and Cragg; Doddington in the Fell Sandstone Group; Blaxter in the Lower Limestone Group and Springwell in the Coal age. Future commercial interest is likely to be mainly confined to those deposits suitable Measures are important sources of building stone. A laminated sandstone is worked for roofing and flooring slabs at Ladycross. Kemping Moss (P) for opencast extraction. Middle Coal Measures High Main Coal Outcrop of Basal Sands Permian Holburn (Ig) Economically by far the most important are the Westphalian Coal Measures of the Northumberland Coalfield from which the largest tonnages of both deep-mined and PEAT opencast coal have been extracted. The coalfield extends from Amble in the north southwards to the Tyne Valley where, by tradition, it becomes known as the Durham PEAT Coalfield. Three outliers of Coal Measures occur in the Tyne Valley to the west of the Lower Coal Measures Peat main coalfield. Extensive deep mining has now almost ceased but the coalfield is one of Two types of peat bog are found in Northumberland, raised bogs, characteristic of flat underlying topography and found mainly on low plains or Greymare Marshall Green Coal the major sources of opencast coal in Britain, being characterised by larger sites than broad valley floors, and blanket bogs in upland areas which allow the accumulation of peat on all but the steepest slopes. These can, however, Farm (P) North Doddington (Cl) elsewhere. The main concentration of coals of economic interest occurs between the Subcrenatum Marine Band contain areas of raised mire and thicker areas known as valley or basin mire. Horticultural peat is produced from lowland bogs, extracted by Mindrum Bottom Marshall Green at the base and the High Main seams at the top, although locally LIMESTONE mechanical means from two workings in Northumberland, peat being cut in summer and harvested in winter. Kemping Moss, near Lowick, is a Red Bank Links (Sg) Mill (Ig) some coals have been worked both above and below these horizons. The principal Millstone Grit raised mire and Greymare Farm, near Belford, works a lowland peat bog. A third area, Bellcrag Flow, near Wark Forest in the National Park, is an opencast coal resource has been defined by showing the exposed Coal Measures from Dolomite area of upland raised bog. Gragmill (Ig) Brada (Ig) the Bottom Marshall Green to the crop of the High Main. Coals higher in the succession

have been classified as a subsidiary resource. Belford Upper Magnesian Limestone Milfield (Sg) (Ig) Widely-spaced coals occur lower in the Carboniferous succession within the Scremerston Woodbridge Burton Coal Group and the Lower, Middle and Upper Limestone Coal groups. These have been Middle Magnesian Limestone Permian Doddington Upper Limestone Group IGNEOUS ROCK Farm (Sg) (Sst) (Lst) worked on a modest scale by both opencast and deep mining. Current production is confined to deep mining of the Little Limestone Coal near Greenhead and Alston. The The most important source of igneous rock for crushed rock aggregate is the Whin Sill, a tabular, sheet-like, intrusive body of quartz dolerite, coals are widely spaced, laterally variable and generally of low quality. Consequently Little Limestone Coal Lower Magnesian Limestone locally known as ’whinstone’. The sill may be up to 70 m thick in places and underlies most of the Carboniferous rocks of Northern Lanton (Sg) they have been classified as a subsidiary resource. Northumberland. It is worked at the prominent escarpment formed where the sill is exposed from the Tyne Valley to the coast at Belford. The Yeavering (Sg) Whin Sill is remarkably consistent in composition throughout its outcrop, though its thickness varies considerably. It is primarily used for roadstone. 30 Limestone Middle Limestone Group Shilbottle Coal 30

An igneous complex of Devonian age, comprising an extensive suite of lavas intruded by a central granite, occurs in the Cheviout Hills. The Limestone Carboniferous complex is deeply weathered and, except for small intrusions of felsite, has been little worked. A felsite at Harden, near Rothbury, is quarried for the production of a range of aggregate products which are valued for their red colour. The granite and lavas have been excluded from the map. Woodend Coals IGNEOUS ROCK (Intrusive) Lower Limestone Group Earle (Ig) Wooler Haugh (Sg) Dolerite (including Great Whin Sill) Upper Carboniferous AIMS AND LIMITATIONS Newton Links (Sg) Haugh metres Fawcet Coal The purpose of the maps and associated reports in this series is to show the broad distribution of those minerals which may be of current or Earle Head (Sg) 0 Felsite Devonian potential economic interest and to relate these to selected nationally-recognised planning designations. The maps are intended to assist in the Mill (Sg) Plashetts Coals consideration and preparation of development plan policies in respect of mineral extraction and the protection of important mineral resources 100 against sterilisation. They bring together a wide range of information, much of which is scattered and not always available in a convenient form. Scremerston Coal Group Scremerston Coals COAL Wester Coal The maps have been produced by collstion and interpretation of mineral resourve data principally held by the British Geological Survey. 200 Areas of shallow coal Information on the extent of mineral planning permissions has been obtained from the relevant Mineral Planning Authority (MPA). Some of the 300 Principal resource area - permissions may have lapsed or expired. The status of individual areas can be ascertained from the appropriate MPA. Location of national Coal Measures planning designations has been obtained from the appropriate statutory body (Countryside Agency, English Nature and English Heritage). For thick, closely spaced coals further information the relevant body should be contacted. Embleton (Ig)

Subsidiary resource area - Scremerston Coal Group Lower, Middle and Upper The mineral resource data presented are based on the best available information, but are not comprehensive and thier quailty is variable. The Wooperton widely spaced coals inferred boundaries shown are, therefore, approximate. Mineral resources defined on the map delineate areas within which potentially workable Limestone groups minerals may occur. These areas are not of uniform potential and also take no account of planning constraints that may limit their working. The (Sg) economic potential of specific sites can only be proved by a detailed evaluation programme. Such an investigation is an essential precursor to 1 / 2 Opencast coal: Worked area submitting a planning application for mineral working. Extensive areas are shown as having no mineral resource potential, but some isolated mineral workings may occur in these areas. The presence of these operations generally reflect very local or specific situations which are referrred 20 to in the accompanying report. 20 COAL LICENCE AREAS (as at 01.08.00) The maps are intended for general consideration of mineral issues and not as a source of detailed inforamtion on specific sites. The maps should Low Hedgeley (Sg) Craster (Ig) Source: The Coal Authority not be used to determine individual planning applications or in taking other decisions on the acquisiton or use of a particular piece of land, Roddam (Sg) although they may give useful background information which sets a specific proposal in context. Roddam (Sg) Opencast coal site Howick (Ig) 3 4 Breamish (Sg) Littlemill River Breamish (Sg) West (Lst) Deep mine Topography reporduced from the OS map by British Geological Survey with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of her Majesty's Stationery Office, © Crown copyright. Low Longhoughton All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction infringes crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence number : extension (Ig) Branton Alnwick (Sg) Hedgeley (Sg) MINERAL PLANNING PERMISSIONS (as at 01.01.00) GD272191/2000. (Sg) Source: Mineral Planning Authorities Administrative boundaries are reproduced with permission from Ordnance Survey Boundary Line. Licence number: GD272671 5 6

Surface planning permission (valid and expired) Digital SSSi and NNR boundaries © English Nature 1999 Snableazes (Ig) Longhoughton (Ig) Positions of Scheduled Monuments at 1st April 1996 as supplied by English Heritage. Underground planning permission other than coal (valid and expired) The majority of monuments are plotted using a central NGR symbol. Consequently the actual area and/or length of a monument protected by the Seaton legal constraints of scheduling cannot be represented here. Monuments scheduled since that date are not accounted for. Point (Sg)

Digital AONB boundaries © Countryside Commission 1986 (now Countryside Agency) 8 9 10 Planning Permission undefined 7 © Crown copyright 2000 Greensfield (Ig) Copyright in the typographical arrangement and design vests in the Crown. MINERAL WORKINGS Published for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions under licence from the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

10 Blaxter Active site Applications for reproduction should be made to The Copyright Unit, Office of Public Services, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, St Clements 10 House, 1-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ. Swarland (Cl) 12 13 14 15 Brunton Inactive, worked-out and/or restored site Harden (Ig) Buston Links (Sg)

Harecrag Active underground mine (Ig) Active secondary aggregate producer Active wharf 18 19 20 21 Cheswick (Sg) Helsey Farm (Sg) Mineral commodity Cl Common clay & shale Lst Limestone Sg Sand & gravel Co Coal MSg Marine sand & gravel Sst Sandstone 24 Fr Fireclay P Peat Vm Vein minerals 25 26 27 Ig Igneous rocks SAgg Secondary aggregates (Lead, Fluorspar, Witherite) Flotterton (Sg) ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGNATIONS Caistron (Sg) Mouldshaugh Northumberland National Park Felton (Sg) Farm (Sg) 1:50 000 map published Cop Crag Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Northumberland Coast, (Sst) 6 000 Hepple (Sg) 6 000 00 North Pennines (part) 1:63 360 map published 00 Shothaugh Pauperhaugh (Cl) Saffron (Sst) (Sg) Site of Special Scientific Interest Maiden’s Hill 1:25 000 map published (Industrial Minerals Assessment Thirston OCCS (Co/Fr) Sand and Gravel Resource Map) Newhouses (Sg) Eshott National Nature Reserve (Sg) Current digital availability of these sheets can be found at the British Geological Survey website: www.bgs.ac.uk Scheduled Monument Wards Hill (Ig) Hemscott Blakemoor Stobswood Burn (Sg) ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS OCCS (Co/Fr) Hill (Sg) Mineral Planning Authority Ewesley (Ig) District Blakemoor Fontburn (Ig) Dukes Sand Cresswell Pit (Sg) Sand Pit (Sg) Bakethin Railway (Sst) Deadmans Cairn (Sst) Greenleighton (Ig) Greenleighton (Lst) Ulgham (Sg) Ellington Colliery (Co, SAgg) Power Station (SAgg) Blaxter (Sst) Hare Wood (Cl) 40 50 60 70 80 90 400 000 10 20 30 40 50 60 Quarry Hill (Sst) Grouse St George’s Hospital (Cl) Belling Crag (Sst) Crag (Sst) Cottingwood Common (Cl) East Benridge (Sst) Pegswood Moor Darney (Sst) High King’s School Morpeth (Cl) Farm OCCS Nick Spital Hill (Cl) (Co/Fr) (Sst) Mi f d C l (S ) Links (Sst) Flotterton (Sg) Caistron (Sg)

Mouldshaugh Felton (Sg) Farm (Sg) Cop Crag 40 50 60 70 (Sst)80 90 400000 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 600000 Hepple (Sg) 600000 Shothaugh Pauperhaugh (Cl) Saffron (Sst) (Sg) Maiden’s Hill COAL Thirston OCCS (Co/Fr) Newhouses (Sg) Eshott Coal-bearing strata occur at a number of horizons in Northumberland in rocks of both Aegiranum Marine Band (Sg) Upper Carboniferous (Namurian and Westphalian) and Lower Carboniferous (Dinantian) Ryhope Coals ENVIRONMENT age. Future commercial interest is likely to be mainly confined to those deposits suitable TRANSPORT for opencast extraction. Middle Coal Measures High Main Coal R EGIONS Wards Hill (Ig) Economically by far the most important are the Westphalian Coal Measures of the Hemscott Blakemoor Stobswood Northumberland Coalfield from which the largest tonnages of both deep-mined and Hill (Sg) Burn (Sg) OCCS (Co/Fr) opencast coal have been extracted. The coalfield extends from Amble in the north NORTHUMBERLAND AND TYNE & WEAR southwards to the Tyne Valley where, by tradition, it becomes known as the Durham Coalfield. Three outliers of Coal Measures occur in the Tyne Valley to the west of the Lower Coal Measures main coalfield. Extensive deep mining has now almost ceased but the coalfield is one of Marshall Green Coal (comprising Northumberland, Northumberland National Park Ewesley (Ig) the major sources of opencast coal in Britain, being characterised by larger sites than elsewhere. The main concentration of coals of economic interest occurs between the Subcrenatum Marine Band North Tyneside, Gateshead, South Tyneside Blakemoor Bottom Marshall Green at the base and the High Main seams at the top, although locally Dukes Sand Cresswell Fontburn (Ig) some coals have been worked both above and below these horizons. The principal Millstone Grit Newcastle - upon - Tyne and Sunderland) Pit (Sg) Sand Pit (Sg) opencast coal resource has been defined by showing the exposed Coal Measures from Bakethin Railway (Sst) the Bottom Marshall Green to the crop of the High Main. Coals higher in the succession A Summary of Mineral Resource Information Deadmans Cairn (Sst) Greenleighton (Ig) Greenleighton (Lst) Ulgham (Sg) have been classified as a subsidiary resource. Ellington Colliery (Co, SAgg) for Development Plans Widely-spaced coals occur lower in the Carboniferous succession within the Scremerston Coal Group and the Lower, Middle and Upper Limestone Coal groups. These have been Upper Limestone Group (SAgg) worked on a modest scale by both opencast and deep mining. Current production is Mineral Resources (South) Blaxter (Sst) Hare Wood (Cl) confined to deep mining of the Little Limestone Coal near Greenhead and Alston. The 90 coals are widely spaced, laterally variable and generally of low quality. Consequently Little Limestone Coal 90 Scale 1:100 000 they have been classified as a subsidiary resource. Compiled by A.J. Bloodworth, D.J. Harrison, D.G. Cameron, S. Holloway, K.A. Linley Quarry Hill (Sst) Grouse St George’s Hospital (Cl) Middle Limestone Group and E. Hough. Belling Crag (Sst) Shilbottle Coal Project Leader: D.E. Highley. Crag (Sst) Cottingwood Common (Cl) Planning Consultant: J.F. Cowley, Mineral and Resource Planning Associates. East Benridge (Sst) Pegswood Moor Darney (Sst) High King’s School Morpeth (Cl) Digital Cartography by S.E. Wood, British Geological Survey, Keyworth. Farm OCCS Nick Spital Hill (Cl) (Co/Fr) Woodend Coals (Sst) Mitford Castle (Sst) Links (Sst) Lower Limestone Group Steels (Sst) Production of this map was commissioned and funded by the Department of Wansbeck extension (Sg) Donkley Whitehills (Ig) the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Contract MP0624) Wood (Sg) Cragg Beach (Sg) Glebe metres (Sst) Wansbeck extension (Sg) Fawcet Coal Craneleugh (Sst) Mitford Steads (Sst) Haugh 0 (Sg) Plashetts Coals Cock Hill (Sst) 100 Choppington (Ig) Scremerston Coal Group Scremerston Coals Kirkwhelpington (Ig) Catchburn (Sst) (SAgg) Wester Coal SAND & GRAVEL Tranwell Farm (Sst) 200 Crag Plantation (Sst) Superficial deposits North Whitehouses (Sst) 300 Watch Hill (Sst) River sand & gravel resources Buteland (Lst) Tranwell Airfield (Sst)

Concealed river sand & gravel resources in assessed areas North Saltwick (Sst) 80 West Duddo 80 (Sst) Blyth Foreshore (Sg) 1 / 2 Glacial sand & gravel resources Bells Hill (Sst) Bellasis Farm (Sst) Concealed glacial sand & gravel resources in assessed areas Divethill (Ig)

Cragshield (Ig) Swinburne (Ig) (Sg) Marine & estuarine sand & gravel resources Crag Bank (Sst) Kirkley Mill (Cl) Wark (Sg) 3 4 Kirkley (Sg) Blown sand and raised beach deposits Bellshill (Lst) (Cl/Co) Mootlaw (Lst) Berwick (Sst) Boundaries of areas assessed for sand and gravel at the indicated Kirk Hill (Sst) resource level Berwickhill Bridge (Cl) Barrasford (Ig/Lst) Ryal (lst) Gardeners 5 6 Bedrock deposits Land adjoining Trinidad Plantation (Cl/Co) Houses (Cl/Co) Gardeners Houses (Fr/Co) Keepershield (Ig) Limestone Lane (Cl) Outcrop of Basal Sands Permian Bellcrag Flow (P) Settlingstones Mine PEAT Callerton Prestwick 8 9 10 Torneys Grottington (Lst) OCCS (Co/Fr) Pit Houses Peat Fell (Ig) (Cl) 7 Cocklaw (Lst) Whittington (Lst) 70 Brunton (Lst) 70 LIMESTONE Fourstones (Lst) Dolomite Prudhamstone Black Dewley Hill (Cl) (Sst) Maria Pit (Cl) Newborough Pasture (Sst) 12 Throckley Brickworks (Cl) Dewley Hill 13 14 15 Upper Magnesian Limestone (Sg) West Warden (Sg/Cl/Co) Walltown Bridge (Sst) Dewley Mill (Cl) Irthing House (Sg) (East) (Ig) Cawfields Fourstones Land adjacent to Middle Magnesian Limestone Permian (Ig) Crindledykes (Sg) Howford (Sg) Throckley Brickworks Howden Jetty (Lst) Stannerford (Cl) Gilsland (Sg) Red Prudhoe Gravel Rye Hill Grange Wharf (MSg) Walltown (Ig) House Road Lower Magnesian Limestone Deadridge (Cl) Works (Sg) Piggery (Sg) Farm (Sg) The Hermitage (Sg) (Sg) Thorngrafton 18 19 Wrytree Colliery (Co) Clay Mine (Cl) Westwood Brickworks (Cl) 20 21 Bridge (Sg) (Sg/Co) Limestone South Tyne (Cl) Lipwood Borrow Thornborough Hedgefield Gateshead Marine (Sg) House (Sg) Pit (Sg) (Sg) Marsden (Lst) Tyne Green (Sg) (Sg) Holburn Aggregate Plant Seldom Seen (Sg) Styford Path Head Haugh (Sg) South Tyne / West Dene Limestone Carboniferous (Sg) Bearl (Sst) (Co/Sg) Wharf (MSg) Castle High Bridge (Sg) Bearl South (Sst) Wylam (Sg) Bellister (Sg) Anick Grange (Cl) Summerhill (Sg) Drift (Co) Haugh (Sg) Bywell (West) (Cl) Melkridge (Sg) Low Prudhoe Phoenix (Cl) Unthank Hall (Sg) 24 IGNEOUS ROCK (Intrusive) Farnley Haugh Bridge (Sst) (Sg) Bank (Sst) Wardley (Cl) 25 26 27 Sandford Syke Bullion Stephen’s Hall Borrow Pit (Sst) (Sg) Hills (Sg) Farm OCCS Blaydon (Sg) Bondene (Sst) Dolerite (including Great Whin Sill) Upper Carboniferous (Fr/Sg/Co) Red Barns Burnhills (Sg) Low Burn Merryshields (Sg) Windy (Browns) (Sst) (Cl, Co) Bywell Stampley Nook (Sg) Felsite Devonian Hall (Sg) Reeley Mires Moss Beggars Wood High Farm (Sg) Farm (Cl) (Sst/Co) Fell (Sst) Downhill (Lst) 60 Hill (Sg) Fulwell (Lst) 1:50 000 map published 60 COAL Areas of shallow coal Hindley Burn Banesley Lane 1:63 360 map published Principal resource area - Borrow Pit (Sg) (Co/Cl) Marine Wharf (MSg) Coal Measures Hollings thick, closely spaced coals Hill (Sg) Ford (Lst) 1:25 000 map published (Industrial Minerals Assessment Subsidiary resource area - Scremerston Coal Group Bridges Sandpit (Sg) Brickworks Lower, Middle and Upper Clay pit (Cl) Union Sand and Gravel Resource Map) widely spaced coals Brickworks Limestone groups Burden (Birtley) (Cl) Broadoak Sandpit (Sg) Station Current digital availability of these sheets can be found at the British Geological Opencast coal: Worked area Dene (Sg) Ladycross (Sst) JT Lane (Cl) Survey website: www.bgs.ac.uk Barnes (Cl) Winnows COAL LICENCE AREAS (as at 01.08.00) Pockerly (Sg) Hill (Sg) Source: The Coal Authority Barley Mow (Cl)

Opencast coal site Mill Shield (Sg) Ryhope Dene (Sg) Espershield Deep mine Ayle (Sg) Colliery McCall’s OCCS (Co/Fr) (Fieldhouse) Colliery (Lst) (Co) Shildon MINERAL PLANNING PERMISSIONS (as at 01.01.00) (Sst) Fell Durham Fields (Sg) Houghton (Lst) Source: Mineral Planning Authorities 50 End (Lst) Ayle (Lst) Throssel Hall (Lst) 50 Priory (Sst) Surface planning permission (valid and expired) Eppleton (Sg) COALBED METHANE 4 National Park boundary 00 Underground planning permission other than coal (valid and expired) Thorngreen (Lst) Methane contained within coal seams is known as coalbed methane and is a potential source of energy. 0 20 km Wellhope Mine (Vm) However, the gas content of the coals in Northumbria are too low for commercial coalbed methane Hydrocarbon Well production. Planning Permission undefined 6 Distribution of Coal Measures 6 50 (Westphalian) in Northumberland 50 Hetton Moors CONVENTIONAL HYDROCARBONS MINERAL WORKINGS (Lst) Farm (Sg) The Carboniferous Northumberland Trough has gas-generating potential but oil-generating potential has Concealed Coal Measures SAND & GRAVEL not been proven. Much of any oil or gas, which may have been generated, may have already been lost Dodd End (Sst) and, with a lack of good reservoir rocks, the prospects are not encouraging.

Active site n

Blaxter n n

Coalcleugh n n Lead Mine (Vm) Two main categories of sand & gravel resources are defined: n n Brunton Inactive, worked-out and/or restored site AIMS AND LIMITATIONS (1) Superficial (drift) deposits, further subdivided into (a) river sand & gravel, (b) glacial sand & gravel, (c) marine and estuarine sand & gravel and HYDROCARBON WELLS OF NORTHUMBERLAND (d) beach and blown sand deposits. The purpose of the maps and associated reports in this series is to show the broad distribution of those minerals which may be of current or potential economic interest and to relate these to selected nationally-recognised planning designations. The maps are intended to assist in the (2) Bedrock (solid) deposits represented here by the Permian Basal Sands. Active underground mine 1 LONG HORSLEY 13 HARTON DOME 1 consideration and preparation of development plan policies in respect of mineral extraction and the protection of important mineral resources Active secondary aggregate producer against sterilisation. They bring together a wide range of information, much of which is scattered and not always available in a convenient form. Superficial deposits Operator : Candecca Resources Operator : BP Start date : 10.07.1986 Start date : 23.01.1960

IGNEOUS ROCK Tested : Stainmore Group Tested : Permian, Coal Measures, Active wharf The maps have been produced by collstion and interpretation of mineral resourve data principally held by the British Geological Survey. River sand & gravel Liddesdale Group Stainmore Group, Liddesdale Group Information on the extent of mineral planning permissions has been obtained from the relevant Mineral Planning Authority (MPA). Some of the Scremerston Coal Group ? Upper Border Group The most important source of igneous rock for crushed rock aggregate is the Whin Sill, a tabular, sheet-like, intrusive body of quartz dolerite, permissions may have lapsed or expired. The status of individual areas can be ascertained from the appropriate MPA. Location of national Post glacial river terrace and alluvial deposits are developed along the major river valleys such as the Breamish, Tyne, Coquet and Till. Fell Sandstone Group Total depth : 1769 m locally known as ’whinstone’. The sill may be up to 70 m thick in places and underlies most of the Carboniferous rocks of Northern Mineral commodity planning designations has been obtained from the appropriate statutory body (Countryside Agency, English Nature and English Heritage). For Fluvioglacial sands and gravels may also occur beneath these deposits, and quarry operations generally extend down to these deposits. Cementstones Group Test results : Water produced from 3 Northumberland. It is worked at the prominent escarpment formed where the sill is exposed from the Tyne Valley to the coast at Belford. The Total depth : 1828.8 m sandstone intervals further information the relevant body should be contacted. 40 Whin Sill is remarkably consistent in composition throughout its outcrop, though its thickness varies considerably. It is primarily used for Test results : Not tested Status : Plugged and abandoned 40 Cl Common clay & shale Lst Limestone Sg Sand & gravel River gravels are generally well sorted, well rounded and of a high commercial quality. In the Breamish, Coquet and Wooler Water valleys, pink roadstone. Status : Plugged and abandoned dry hole The mineral resource data presented are based on the best available information, but are not comprehensive and thier quailty is variable. The sand & gravel derived from the Cheviot complex is regarded as a first class concreting aggregate. Terrace deposits are generally well-to fairly Co Coal MSg Marine sand & gravel Sst Sandstone inferred boundaries shown are, therefore, approximate. Mineral resources defined on the map delineate areas within which potentially workable well-graded with a moderate fines content. Narrow belts of flood plain gravel are also common in valleys. An igneous complex of Devonian age, comprising an extensive suite of lavas intruded by a central granite, occurs in the Cheviout Hills. The 2 WHITLEY BAY 1 minerals may occur. These areas are not of uniform potential and also take no account of planning constraints that may limit their working. The lkh Fr Fireclay P Peat Vm Vein minerals complex is deeply weathered and, except for small intrusions of felsite, has been little worked. A felsite at Harden, near Rothbury, is quarried for economic potential of specific sites can only be proved by a detailed evaluation programme. Such an investigation is an essential precursor to Fluvioglacial sands and gravels, generally thicker deposits than river alluvium, have been partially, but imperfectly, sorted by streams issuing from Operator : Safari Oil Co. (Lead, Fluorspar, the production of a range of aggregate products which are valued for their red colour. The granite and lavas have been excluded from the map. Ig Igneous rocks SAgg Secondary aggregates submitting a planning application for mineral working. Extensive areas are shown as having no mineral resource potential, but some isolated the melting glaciers. The largest spread of such deposits in north-east England is near Wooler, where extensive terraces of sand & gravel up to 9 Start date : ? August 1967 6 6 Tested : Coal Measures, Staimore Group Witherite) mineral workings may occur in these areas. The presence of these operations generally reflect very local or specific situations which are referrred m in thickness occur. Terraces are also present along the River Tyne and its tributaries. The deposits tend to be regular in depth and 00 00 Liddesdale Group, Upper Border Group to in the accompanying report. CLAY AND SHALE, INCLUDING FIRECLAY composition, and contain a high proportion of gravel, much of the finer material having been washed out. The terrace gravels consist mainly of True vertical depth : 2015 m ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGNATIONS Carboniferous sandstones with some Lower Palaeozoic greywackes, some limestone and igneous rocks. Test results : Not known if tested The maps are intended for general consideration of mineral issues and not as a source of detailed inforamtion on specific sites. The maps should Coal Measures mustone and fireclay are the principal brick clay resources in the area and their extent is largely coincident with opencast coal Status : Plugged and abandoned 1 not be used to determine individual planning applications or in taking other decisions on the acquisiton or use of a particular piece of land, BUILDING STONE resources. Coal Measures mudstone is produced at Red Barns Quarry in South Tyneside to supply the Throckley plant, west of Newcastle, with Glacial sand & gravel Northumberland National Park although they may give useful background information which sets a specific proposal in context. red-firing clays for facing brick manufacture. A small brick plant at Swarland, near Rothbury, also producing red-firing bricks is based on locally Sandstones of Carboniferous age, primarily sandstones of the Carboniferous Limestone (Dinantian), Stainmore Group (Millstone Grit - Namurian) produced glacial clay. The largest group of sands and gravels in north-east England are ice-contact sediments laid down by streams flowing on the tops of, within and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Northumberland Coast, and the Coal Measures (Westphalian) are the principal building stone resource in Northumberland and the Tyne & Wear area. They satisfy the beneath ice sheets. These deposits commonly occur as lenses either within, or beneath till (boulder clay). The composition and thickness of accepted criteria for building stone use such as strength and frost resistance (low porosity), durability and hardness (well cemented and resistant North Pennines (part) Fireclays typically occur beneath coal seams and resources are, therefore, confined to coal-bearing strata. Originally fireclays were valued as these deposits is highly variable, although characteristically sandy, except in the Tyne Valley where gravels predominate. They may also grade mineral framework), size of block, based on thickness of the bed, and aesthetic qualities such as colour and texture. refractory raw materials but only small amounts of fireclay are now used for refractory applications. Some fireclays have relatively low iron into till as fines content increases. Impersistent glacial beds may reach a thickness of up to 30 m in the Tyne Valley. Topography reporduced from the OS map by British Geological Survey with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of her contents compared with other brickmaking clays and they are valued for the production of buff-coloured bricks and pavers. They are often PEDL28 Site of Special Scientific Interest Majesty's Stationery Office, © Crown copyright. Demand for stone is currently concentrating on sandstones of uniform colour (buff, pale yellow and grey) and fine- to medium- grain-size. blended with red-firing clays to give a range of colours. The close association of fireclay and coal means that opencast coal sites are one of the Parts of the area assessed for sand & gravel by the BGS are identified on the map. Within these areas, the extent of sand & gravel, including the All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction infringes crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence number : Coarser granular and pebbly sandstones or gritstones which were once widely used are now generally less commonly worked. As the stone few viable sources of fireclay. Fireclay resources are thus coincident with opencast coal resources, although because of quality considerations, possible extent of glacial sand & gravel beneath till, is shown. Outside resource assessment areas, data are more limited and only glacial sand & ROC GD272191/2000. quarries are often small, the extent of the resource is not shown on the map. Despite this, the quarries are commercially important and their mainly levels of carbon, sulphur and iron, only a small number of fireclay seams are usually workable. The Northumberland coalfield is an gravel at outcrop is shown. Resources concealed beneath till may be extensive in some areas. 2 National Nature Reserve product is widely used in the north-east, and also in the towns of the Borders and southern Scotland. Quarrying of sandstones has been carried important source of fireclay, which is used mainly in buff brick manufacture and on modest scale for refractory applications. Administrative boundaries are reproduced with permission from Ordnance Survey Boundary Line. Licence number: GD272671 out since at least Roman times and blocks can be seen in Hadrian’s Wall. Production reached a peak in the 19th to the early part of the 20th Marine and estuarine sand & gravel centuries, with many quarries operating in and around Newcastle and Gateshead, of which only Springwell remains in production. Demand is Scheduled Monument Digital SSSi and NNR boundaries © English Nature 1999 rising as natural stone is specified, mainly on aesthetic grounds, for new buildings in the area. Sandstones from quarries in the Stainmore Group Within the Morpeth area, these resources are shown in the estuaries of the Blyth and Wansbeck, where they consist of silt, pebbly clay and sand 3 such as Darney, Bearl and Cragg; Doddington in the Fell Sandstone Group; Blaxter in the Lower Limestone Group and Springwell in the Coal & gravel. Positions of Scheduled Monuments at 1st April 1996 as supplied by English Heritage. Measures are important sources of building stone. A laminated sandstone is worked for roofing and flooring slabs at Ladycross. LIMESTONE ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS The majority of monuments are plotted using a central NGR symbol. Consequently the actual area and/or length of a monument protected by the Beach and blown sand 30 legal constraints of scheduling cannot be represented here. Monuments scheduled since that date are not accounted for. Carboniferous limestones occur in a cyclical sequence of limestone, mudstone and sandstone beds (the so-called ’Yoredale facies’). The 30 Mineral Planning Authority limestones are usually less than 10 m thick and, therefore, are too thin to support a modern quarrying operation. Consequently they have mostly Beach deposits are found along the length of the Northumberland coast, often backed by sand dunes. They are generally clean fine- and Digital AONB boundaries © Countryside Commission 1986 (now Countryside Agency) been excluded from the mineral resources map except where closely associated with the Whin Sill. The main exception is the Great Limestone medium-grained sands of uniform grading, used for concreting and building sand. No beach deposits are currently worked. Blown or dune sand PEAT which is sufficiently thick (up to 20 m), extensive and consistent in quality to form a workable resource. It is worked at two sites in the southern deposits are of variable thickness and consist of uncemented fine- to medium-grained sands. Dunes are rarely worked because of conservation District 5 5 © Crown copyright 2000 part of the county for crushed rock aggregate. considerations. 50 50 Copyright in the typographical arrangement and design vests in the Crown. Two types of peat bog are found in Northumberland, raised bogs, characteristic of flat underlying topography and found mainly on low plains or broad valley floors, and blanket bogs in upland areas which allow the accumulation of peat on all but the steepest slopes. These can, however, Dolomites, dolomitic limestones and limestones of Permian age (the Magnesian Limestone) occur in the south-east corner of the area. The Bedrock deposits Published for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions under licence from the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. contain areas of raised mire and thicker areas known as valley or basin mire. Horticultural peat is produced from lowland bogs, extracted by Magnesian Limestone is highly variable in its physical, mechanical and chemical properties. It is inferior to Carboniferous limestones as a source mechanical means from two workings in Northumberland, peat being cut in summer and harvested in winter. Kemping Moss, near Lowick, is a of aggregate, because of its variable character, lower strength and higher porosity and is generally used for sub-base material and fill. Regionally The Permian Basal Sands have a small outcrop in the extreme south-east of the area, where they crop out intermittently along the base of the Applications for reproduction should be made to The Copyright Unit, Office of Public Services, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, St Clements raised mire and Greymare Farm, near Belford, works a lowland peat bog. A third area, Bellcrag Flow, near Wark Forest in the National Park, is an Permian Magnesian Limestone escarpment and dip to the east beneath the limestone. They are currently unworked, unlike in neighbouring it forms an important aggregate resource. The Upper Magnesian Limestone is worked at Marsden Quarry, in South Shields, for roadstone, fill 4 House, 1-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ. area of upland raised bog. and agricultural use. Durham, where they form an important source of building sand. 00

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