The UK's most southerly quarry could be turned into a holiday site with 54 eco-lodges.

A public open day is due to take place next Saturday in St Keverne, to talk about proposals for Dean Quarry.

St Keverne Parish Council has put up a notice saying: "A potential purchaser of Dean Quarry is holding an open day in St Keverne Parish Hall on Saturday, June 11 2022, 10am to 4pm, for anyone wishing to see and hear what they are proposing for the quarry."

At the May meeting of the council, Michael Shaw of Hieronymus Gruff Limited told councillors that his company would be submitting planning for change of use of the quarry site, with a public consultation to come.

He said the proposal was for the existing planning consent, for use of the site as a stone quarry, to be rescinded and replaced by 54 eco-lodges, for holiday use only, together with a further two for the sole benefit of local charitable causes.

Exchange of contracts was subject to planning permission being granted, the minutes of the meeting state.

An online information brochure, dated April 2022, gives more information.

It states that the proposal would "ease the second home dilemma" as well as protect the area of outstanding natural beauty.

They are described as "ethical holiday homes" that would be a net zero carbon operation.

Each lodge would be powered solely by electricity, all of which would be generated from renewables, to ensure zero fossil fuel consumption.

Other benefits, the brochure claims, would be retaining the coastal plans and protecting wildlife habitats, protecting the Manacles Marine Conservation Zone from "quarry pollution", the collapsing coastal path at Godrevy Tip would be repaired, reinforced and protected, and a defibrillator would be added, with access for the public using the coastal path.

It estimates that nearly one million pounds of revenue would be created in off-site spending, while the site itself would create 56 new jobs – one per lodge built – and that these would be year round, not seasonal.

The brochure also states: " It is a misconception that Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) status bans all development. It does not. Instead, it requires careful consideration and to provide an improvement over the existing use."

Income from one of the lodges, it states, would be donated fully to charity, split between The Friends of St Keverne Health Centre, St Keverne Band and regular marine surveys of the Manacles Marine Conservation Zone, while all income from a second would be donated to the Lizard Lifeboat Station.

The brochure states that Hieronymus Gruff Limited had exchanged contracts to purchase Dean Quarry from Shire Oak Quarries Limited, subject to obtaining planning consent.

It adds: "It is far removed from the average type of holiday development. There would be no facilities such as bars, restaurants or swimming pools. Our customers tend to be families seeking peace and quiet, in natural settings. They are not looking to stay in a traditional holiday park."

And it goes on to state: "We are aware that there is existing interest from two companies, each of whom would re-open the site as a quarry under the existing

planning consents."

Describing this as "worst case scenario", it adds: "The site has been mothballed for some years. It is easy to forget the disturbance, noise and dust the quarry creates when it is operational."

The brochure calls for views on the proposal, whether in support or opposition. The full brochure, which includes indicative copyrighted images, is available to view at https://supermarinecornwall.com/ where there is also a 'feedback' button that goes through to an email address.

Back in 2019 Shire Oak Quarries Ltd, which currently owns the site, put forward three proposals to the community: to re-open it as a quarry, extracting around 200,000 tonnes of rock per year, to re-open with an increased extraction of around 400,000 tonnes per year, or to close the quarry and develop it into an outdoor pursuits centre, dive centre, all-weather rock climbing centre and training centre for coastguards and other emergency services, with 11 new-build apartments at the top of the site to finance it.

A public drop-in afternoon was held, but no development ever resulted from it. You can read more from that consultation here: Plans for disused quarry declared 'a Tesco' as owners beg for community input