David Coster, Director of Advanced Stone & Masonry Supplies, which sells Stain Proof and Tenax products, talks to Andy Phillips, Managing Director of Affordable Granite and a founding Director of the Worktop Fabricators Federation.

David: Natural Stone, quartz, porcelain / sintered stone?

Andy: In my house I’ve got natural stone. I prefer it all day long. It’s look more interesting; there’s more to it. And I know the energy costs are much better in terms of producing it, so I feel comfortable with it at an eco level.

However, what we are selling at the moment is mainly quartz because that’s what seems to be in demand in the marketplace.

We are starting to see an increase in porcelain and sintered stone and I think they’re going to be the future if the manufacturers can just get the levels and the longevity right on them. We have seen people moving away from quartz into natural stone more recently as well.

Straight off the CNC or hand finished?

Most of our work is straight off the CNC. We do hand finish, but mostly only if it wouldn’t be economical to put it on the CNC – short edges and that kind of thing. Also if we’re doing non-standard profiling.

Have you made any particular investments in the business lately?

I have made a lot of investments this past year. We’ve had an inspection by a Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Inspector, so the investment was quite timely. I have invested in a Primus waterjet from Intermac, which has allowed me to take away a load of the hand finishing that we have been doing up to now. I have also invested in wet grinding technology and up-graded our air lines so we can use it properly. It’s been about dust control primarily, and also being able to handle softer marbles that are becoming more popular as well as ceramics.

The Worktop Fabricators Federation (WFF) has been very involved in dust matters. Did being one of the founder Directors of WFF influence your action on dust control?

I don’t think I would have done it without the WFF. The reason is that I have been speaking to a number of other business owners… We had a meeting at Brachot. There was a big discussion about how people have got their respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust under control and below the legal limits. I realised from this discussion what was actually best. I then spoke to a couple of other fabricators  who had bought waterjets about the machines they had chosen and how they were finding them. I was able to say: OK, four or five other companies have bought this exact same machine and they are saying it is good and does everything they want it to do.

So the WFF has been the lever that made me make the investment and I wass glad I had when we had the visit by the HSE Inspector. They were delighted to see I had proactively been taking action already.

How has it been, forming the WFF?

It’s been interesting. We have brought a new Director in to the WFF recently to strengthen the Board – Jamie Dowdall, the Managing Director of Mayflower Stone in Plymouth. He’s a very welcome addition.

The membership or the organisation is growing steadily now. WE are definitely well known out in the market place. I think everyone has heard of us and more people are now starting to come on board. They are saying: OK. How can I get some benefit out of this. Being a member is not onerous and the communication going on between members is so well valued. We help each other in all sorts of ways. We want members with the right attitude towards sharing information and making the right investments in their companies to bring in best practice.

Will you be visiting the Natural Stone Show and Hard Surfaces at ExCeL London 6-8 June?

Absolutely. The WFF is a sponsoring partner of the Hard Surfaces side. The WFF has bought a Trolex Air XS unit that uses lasers to measure the levels of RCS in the air specifically in real time. The units are quite expensive, so by buying one all our members can benefit from it. We will also be talking about training. And there will be some social events going on for members and prospective members. If any fabricators have been thinking about joining the WFF and would like to come along they would be most welcome. It’s an open door really if you’re a fabricator.

We also have sponsors from the major manufacturers. Well, you know: Tenax sponsors us. But we’re not there to support anyone’s particular product. We’re all about what issues fabricators are facing at the moment and how we can support each other.

So fabricators going to the Stone Show can pop along and see you guys?

Absolutely. We’re on stand I 50. Please come and see us.

Moving on from the WFF, what trends do you expect to see in the market? What do you anticipate a year down the line?

I’m optimistic that we’re going to a decrease in white marbly quartz. It’s been around a long time. It does work in kitchens, so I think it’s always going to be there, but there are so many variations on the theme that, personally, I don’t think they add much. I just hope we are going to see a move towards warmer colours, although you would have to ask the manufacturers what they are planning. I would very much like to see people trying something a bit more interesting – including natural stone.

This time of year we see an increase in the outdoor barbecue market – and it’s great! We are starting to see a lot more natural stone going into these outdoor areas. And we are seeing the advent of ceramics. There’s some great new colours coming from the sintered stone suppliers. Our customers are learning how to construct with them properly so they can use these materials successfully.

I think marble is on the increase as well. There’s been some interesting communications out there from the marble importers and people are starting to notice it.

The main thing I have noticed this year is it’s a lot more hand-to-mouth. We’ve had a lot of enquiries coming in but they are staying on the shelf longer. They are not converting at the same pace as they were. Projects have been delayed because of manpower as well, and the question is: are people going to run out of cash before their project reaches the top of the pile.

Is this a left over from Covid and Brexit?

Yes, I think it is. People have got into the habit of putting things off. It’s just been one thing after another, with the latest being the fall in Sterling, the cost of living crisis and the interest rate hikes. We just haven’t had any good news for a long time. I don’t think it’s politically based, but I certainly notice from my staff’s point of view – and I imagine everyone I speak to is in the same boat – that everyone has had enough. Everyone is really stressed.

The HSE has been talking about workplace stress being of concern and we are seeing it in all of our customers, suppliers and employees. Everyone has had enough and if they don’t have to do something right now they’re not doing it.

Do you think the next year or two are going to be worse, the same or better?

It’s really difficult to say. Margins for a fabricator are wafer thin and the material prices are pushing up and up and up and up.

The margins on porcelain and quartzite seem better, but lower down the market it’s harder on quartz?

Quartz is just becoming a race to the bottom. We all know the quality of quartz is variable, depending on what you’re buying, but many customers are just saying they want the cheapest because they can get something that looks similar for half the price. The margins on marble and porcelain are better, which is why I bought the waterjet.

It’s future-proofing you. Both in terms of manufacturing and health & safety.

Exactly. It meant we were able to cut a very high end job for a customer in Mayfair the other day using a fragile marble that I wouldn’t have touched without the waterjet. Let’s hope specifiers, architects and customers actually start to see the value in this rather than just going for the cheapest option.

It’s the Natural Stone Show, back at ExCeL with Hard Surfaces. And here are five great reasons to make sure these exhibitions are on your calendar:

• To check out the latest innovations
• To meet up with trusted suppliers
• To network with prospective customers
• To listen to great lectures
• To inspire fledgling staff

And without me even trying too hard to stretch matters, the truth is those five reasons are also examples of what it means to continuously develop our (and our businesses') professionalism.

How so? An awareness of new techniques and systems can inform our ability to do our job better.

Understanding our suppliers can enhance both the quality and best use of the resources going into our project.

Networking is where our qualifications and skills meet the market.

Learning from experts helps us grow our skills and showcase our major selling points to the market.

And investing in people is key to keeping the workforce qualified!

So make sure you have a plan when attending the Natural Stone Show and Hard Surfaces. Who among your staff are you going to take with you? Who do you want to meet? And what lectures will you schedule in?

A new cohort for the CITB Specialist Applied-Skills Programmes in Facade Preservation & Stone Fixing has started training.

The latest SAPs, as Specialist Applied Skills Programmes are known, kicked-off in April.

Many thanks to Michelle Turner of Stone Restoration Services, based in Ongar, Essex, for hosting the three days. All the trainees enjoyed hands on experience of working with stone.

The next cohort is planned to start in September, so please give me a shout (details below the picture above) if you would like enrolment details. The programme is fee-neutral for CITB registered firms, so long as the person being enrolled is an employee and has access to in-house mentoring on-site.

The programme includes assessment at NVQ level 2 in either stone fixing or facade preservation.

The Elizabeth Line's full peak timetable started on 22 May, making it even easier to visit the Natural Stone Show & Hard Surfaces exhibitions at ExCeL London on 6-8 June.

The updates marked the final milestone of the Crossrail project, opened as the Elizabeth Line a year ago almost to the day, and seen as a double purple line on underground maps to differentiate it from London Underground lines. It realises all the benefits that were promised by Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport (DfT) as joint sponsors of the new line, including higher frequencies, greater connectivity and faster journey times.

From 22 May this year train frequencies on the line have been increased to 24 an hour between Paddington and Whitechapel at peak times – that’s a train every two and a half minutes. There are 16 an hour off-peak. The peak period also now lasts longer, increasing capacity even further.

Transport Minister Richard Holen said on 22 May: "Almost a year to the day since the Elizabeth line was first launched, it has already supported more than 150million journeys and, from today, even more people will be able to benefit from it."

Benefits include:

• Customers from Shenfield and east London can now travel directly to Heathrow Airport for the first time, with more trains to the airport overall
• Reduced journey times in the west for customers travelling from Reading into central London
• The Elizabeth line has already become the one of the most used railways in the country as it continues to support new housing, jobs and economic growth.

In the east, more services at peak time run between Liverpool Street National Rail station and Gidea Park, providing a faster route for those using the Bishopsgate entrance, and in the west, there is an increase in peak services from Reading, with some trains that were previously operated by Great Western Railway transferring to the Elizabeth Line.

The removal of any significant pauses for trains outside Paddington will also bring reduced journey times for customers travelling from the west into central London. 

When the Elizabeth Line opened on 24 May 2022 there were more than 2.5million journeys made on it in the first week. Now, with journeys from the east and west running through central London, there are an average of around 3.5million Elizabeth line journeys each week.

This means that the transformational railway, which is on track to break even by the end of this financial year, has already become one of the most used railways in the country as it continues to support easier journeys and new jobs, homes and economic growth. 

TfL figures show the Elizabeth line has attracted around 140,000 additional journeys in London each weekday – and customer satisfaction is high, with the Elizabeth Line scoring 82% in TfL's latest Customer Satisfaction Survey (covering January–March this year).

It has transformed the accessibility of the transport network, with 41 step-free stations unlocking new journeys for disabled and older customers, parents with buggies and customers with luggage. 

An estimated 30% of Elizabeth Line journeys to and from Heathrow have come from those who might previously have used Heathrow Express to the airport. In the new timetable there are more frequent Elizabeth Line services to and from Heathrow with trains from Shenfield in the east now going all the way to Heathrow Terminal 5 all day.

The airport now receives six Elizabeth line trains per hour all day. All Heathrow trains stop at Terminal 2&3, with four trains per hour continuing to Terminal 4 and two per hour continuing to Terminal 5.

Tottenham Court Road has seen the largest growth in demand on the Elizabeth line since it opened, with more than 100,000 additional journeys passing through the station each day, doubling its usage. Farringdon, Whitechapel and Abbey Wood have also seen large rises in demand, again doubling or nearly doubling the number of journeys being made from these stations.

Sadiq Khan, The Mayor of London, said on 22 May: "A year since opening, the Elizabeth line has transformed travel across London and the South East and is now the most popular railway in the country. An incredible 3.5million journeys are made a week, as passengers enjoy the modern trains, beautiful step-free stations and reduced journey times. 

"The Elizabeth line is the most significant addition to our transport network in decades and has proven to be much more than just a new railway, providing a crucial economic boost to the whole country and playing a vital role in drawing people back on to London's public transport.

"The introduction of the final full timetable marks the completion of the Crossrail project, and I'm delighted that passengers will have even more frequent services to get them across the capital and beyond. The Elizabeth line is helping to build a better London… which is a safer, fairer, greener and more prosperous city for all Londoners."

• The full new timetable is available to view on the TfL website:  tfl.gov.uk/modes/elizabeth-line/elizabeth-line-timetables
• More information about travelling between Heathrow's terminals is available here: www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/airport-maps/travel-between-terminals
• For more information about travelling to ExCeL by air, train, road, or cable car, visit www.excel.london/visitor/getting-here
• You can watch a video about the Elizabeth Line below.

Caesarstone has expanded its quartz and porcelain distribution with the opening of a new Irish warehouse and distribution centre in Dublin.

Caesarstone opened its first UK HQ, distribution centre and showroom in London in 2017, and its second in Manchester’s Trafford Park in 2018. Since then, it says business has continued to grow, with demand coming from all corners of the UK and Ireland. The growth has necessitated a third site near Dublin.

“This is another exciting move for our business and a key element in the next stage of our growth,” explains Amir Reske, MD of Caesarstone UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

“We already enjoy strong relationships with many of the biggest players in the Irish kitchen & bathroom market. Our new distribution centre will allow us to better support them with improved stock holding and delivery times, as well as bringing us new business as we increase our presence in this important market.”

The new 3,500m2 site significantly increases Caesarstone’s Ireland stock holding and has seen more people recruited to man it. James Dignam has been appointed Manager, joining Caesarstone with almost 20 years of distribution management experience.

Established in 1987 making engineered quartz, Caesarstone now has an award-winning multi-material portfolio of over 100 colours, having expanded into porcelain and natural stone. It is present in more than 50 countries.

Caesarstone is made in Israel, where it holds ISO 14001 (environmental management standard), ISO 9001 (quality management standard), and NSF (public health & safety) certification. 

Caesarstone UK is headquartered in Enfield. The new Irish depot is at Unit 7, Horizon Logistics Park, Harristown, Co Dublin.

In a room that wouldn’t look out of place at the Kennedy Space Center, Steve Murphy, of Planet Granite (https://www.planetgranite.co.uk/), and his 17-year-old son, Stevie, look out of long windows on either side into workshops where three hefty ABB robots (that they have named Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo) are cutting stone.

The workshops that house the robots were put up by Steve and Stevie during the Covid restrictions. The control room houses the supercomputers that run the robots and isolates the computers and the operators from the work areas.

Steve Murphy is impressed with the way his son has mastered the programs that run the robots – so impressed that he has nominated him for an Emerging Talent Award at the Natural Stone Show at ExCeL London, 6-8 June. Planet Granite is exhibiting at the exhibition (on stand E57) to explain the capabilities of the robots. Terzago Robotics, the Italian company that supplied the machines initially, is also at the exhibition (on stand B17).

Both Steve and Stevie went to Terzago in Italy for instruction on how to program the robots, although they have had to hone the process of putting that knowledge into practice by learning as they go in the Planet Granite workshops.

Stevie started studying engineering at college in Coventry after leaving school but found the pace pedestrian after what he had learnt at Planet Granite, so he has quit to work full time in the family business. And a separate company, called Planet Sculpture, has been set up for the robots.

One of the first major stone projects they attempted was cutting a bigger than life-size Batman into a block of granite that had stood for years outside the Planet Granite showroom a few hundred metres from the workshops. A natural fissure in the stone has left Batman with a dramatic gaping wound in his arm.

The intention is to bring the finished Batman sculpture to the Natural Stone Show. Afterwards it will be put back in front of Planet Granite’s new showroom. More drama will be added by a 100,000 lumin torch shining the Bat sign into the sky at night in the same way as the authorities of Gotham City call Batman when they need his help.

Planet Granite has four robots all together. The fourth is a saw jet on a 10m run in a second workshop. It is called Scarlet after Steve’s daughter.

Asked now what his customer base is going to be Steve is frank: “I have no idea.” Which is why he is exhibiting at the Natural Stone Show in London and has also employed a company to make 15-minute podcasts for him to promote the business.

One possible area for the computers is a growing trend among avant-garde furnituremakers to use solid blocks of stone. French artist Arthur Vallin working in New York and Kelly Wearstler (https://www.kellywearstler.com/gallery-view-all), also in America, are among those making chairs, tables and other furniture in solid stone.

Cars, sculptures of people and animals, and many other solid, 3D objects that can be designed on computers or scanned from models can be produced by the robots.

With the Institute of Quarrying now partnering the National Stone Centre in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, plans are progressing to raise its profile as a centre of excellence for presenting the benefits of natural stone to the built environment.

There’s a touch of Alice in Wonderland about going under the old, stone railway bridge into the National Stone Centre in Wirksworth, Derbyshire. And what you find on the other side is about to get a whole lot more exciting.

A detailed planning application for a £6.5million transformation of the National Stone Centre near Wirksworth, Derbyshire, was approved unanimously by Derbyshire Dales District Council in April. It is hoped building work will start in the autumn and be finished 18 months later.

The plans have been developed in partnership with Wirksworth-based building design and consultancy practice Babenko Associates.

The design has a cantilevered structure that sees the building emerge from the hillside, like the overhanging rock formations found in local gritstone outcrops such as Black Rocks and Stanage Edge, as well as reflecting the area’s industrial heritage.

Phase One of the project includes proposals for a 100 seater café / restaurant; four naturally lit classrooms with a combined capacity for 120 learners; 700m2 of museum / exhibition space; a souvenir shop; Changing Places facilities; a new thematic children’s playground; and a 1,200m2 open-air circular piazza for community events.

James Thorne is Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Quarrying, which merged with the National Stone Centre (NSC) in 2021. He says: “In 2021 the value of tourism to the Peak District and Derbyshire’s economy was estimated at £1.96billion. A re-imagined and reinvigorated National Stone Centre will bring new visitors, as well as providing a focal point for engaging the public, schools and colleges in the science, history, and the present and future of the quarrying and mineral products industry.

“We are delighted to have reached this point in the project, which makes everything feel so much more real.”

The planning application was the end result of more than a year’s consultation and engagement with the NSC’s stakeholders. James says feedback was taken on board and helped shape the submitted planning application. 

The National Stone Centre is on a 42-acre Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) encompassing six former limestone quarries and 120-or-so mines, from which lead (in particular) was extracted.

In fact, there is a tentative proposal for the Peak District Mining Museum, which concentrates on the lead mining industry of the area, to relocate on the site from its current home two-and-a-half miles away in Matlock Bath.

The NSC opened in 1990, thanks to the tireless work of Ian Thomas, its founding and long-serving (though now retired) Director, who received last year’s Distinguished Service Award from the Geological Society in recognition of his contribution to geology at the National Stone Centre (see below).

The aim of the Centre has always been to inspire people to engage with geology, history and industry in a story told by minerals (notably stone) and their extraction.

The merging of the NSC with the Institute of Quarrying (IQ) came with a vision of developing the NSC into a knowledge destination used by the stone and minerals industries to engage a wider audience.

The NSC, with its stone carving and dry stone walling training, Geo-Trail and country walks, restaurant and education centre in the heart of a stone production area always intended to spread the stone message to locals and visitors alike. But it was, as James Thorne describes it,  “resource shy”. In other words, it lacked funds.

The association with IQ has provided additional resources to allow it to develop. And from the perspective of IQ, it provides an opportunity for the extractive industry to spread the message about the essential role of minerals in modern society, not least as low carbon natural stone for the construction industry.

James says IQ has recently run a course on biodiversity led by a geologist whose fascination with the subject had been inspired by a trip to the NSC as a child. During the visit she took part in a gem-panning activity, which is still part of what is on offer at the NSC.

IQ was previously on the outskirts of Nottingham but has now relocated to temporary accommodation at the NSC. It is waiting for the new building work to provide it with its new headquarters.

Proposals for improvement

The designs for the new buildings by Building Design Consultancy Babenko Associates, a practice scarcely a stone’s throw from the National Stone Centre, were on show at the NSC for much of last year. The proposals eventually submitted as the planning  application were influenced by the feedback they received.

Gabriel Babenko, who heads his practice, says: “The National Stone Centre is a bit of a local landmark, so we jumped at the opportunity to present our ideas to provide the Centre with a new home, as well as office and meeting accommodation for the IQ and its members.”

He describes the site as “a real hidden gem, with stunning views and an industrial legacy of past quarrying”.

The public consultation process about the proposed development – online as well as at the NSC itself, and taken to Wirksworth Market and Matlock’s ‘Go Green’ event – received overwhelmingly positive support from the local community.

James Thorne says: “This process was very much about listening to what people had to say and providing a channel via which all feedback could be delivered – positive and negative.

“We had a good response to the consultation, both in person and in writing. This included insightful feedback on the project’s outline plans, which we have taken and used to inform a further iteration of the proposed development plans.

“We are looking to make a significant contribution to the Derbyshire visitor economy and, through doing so, inspire future generations to join an exciting sector to help tackle significant challenges such as digitalization, the circular economy, zero carbon, and the skills of people in the industry today.”

He says the NSC will become a world-class centre for training and continual professional development (CPD), for events and meetings, innovation and research, to inspire, educate and engage with as wide an audience as possible.

Throughout the consultation process, IQ reassured regular visitors to the National Stone Centre that facilities such as the Blue Lagoon restaurant would remain operational during the building works.

You can see plans of the proposals and find out more about them in a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section of the IQ website that is dedicated to the NSC project at www.quarrying.org/nationalstonecentre.

Viv Russell, who is President of IQ and on the Board of D2N2, one of 38 Local Enterprise Partnerships in England supporting business growth and levelling up, says the Institute has a driving ambition to realise the potential of the NSC and create a new home for IQ. He says: “This is a once in a generation opportunity to create a hugely exciting new visitor centre that celebrates the extraordinary role that stone plays in all of our lives.

“The existing building has limited potential for development, so we invited ideas from a small group of local architects to come up with their own vision for a new National Stone Centre.

“[They] gave us a lot of food for thought, but ultimately the team at Babenko Associates really captured our imagination with their ideas around construction materials, sustainability, and use of space. In addition, we want the NSC to continue to grow as part of the vibrant local community. Employing a partner that can be on site in minutes and also understands the nuances of the local area is a huge benefit to us.”

Activities at the National Stone Centre include courses on stone carving and dry stone wall building, both of which have left a legacy at the Centre itself, including an impressive record of different styles of dry stone walling  from around the country in what is called the Millennium Wall, which actually comprises 19 different sections of wall.

It was built in the year 2000 (hence the name) by more than 150 members of the Dry Stone Walling Association, which is based in Cumbria.

The wallers came from all over Britain, bringing their own local stones with them to add to the geological variety to be seen at the NSC. They built the different sections of dry stone wall in the distinctive styles of the areas they were from – because wallers and dykers work in their own traditional styles, often dictated by the geology of their area, in different parts of the UK. The walls were built on the four days 29 April 2000 to 1 May.

All around the NSC information boards explain what you are looking at and on the Millennium Wall each section of walling is explained and the stone used identified.

The story of the geology of the area occupied by the NSC unfolds along a geological trail of about half-a-mile around the six quarries that once operated on the site. The quarrying has revealed key parts of a lagoon and reef, as well as a thin band of volcanic ash. It is why the site was chosen as the location for the NSC. And it is because of  its geological significance that much of the site is categorised and protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The trail starts and ends at the Blue Lagoon restaurant. It is called the Blue Lagoon because 330million years ago it would have been standing in a fairly shallow lagoon in the tropics. The disused limestone quarries of the NSC once formed part of a tropical island surrounded by shallow lagoons, barrier reefs and white sand beaches. There would have been volcanoes erupting from time to time around what is now Ashover and Matlock, as well as further north.

This was during the Carboniferous, which takes its name from the large underground coal deposits created by the eventual fossilisation of the fallen trees of a lush forest that covered the land. This part of the Midlands was once famous for its coal mines.

Many of the creatures that lived in and around the blue lagoon that gives the restaurant its name had shells made from calcium. Eventually deposits of the calcium built up on the floor of the lagoon to form the building blocks of the limestones (limestone is Calcium Carbonate – CaCO3).

Today that stone contains the fossils of corals, brachiopods and crinoids, sea lilies and sharks’ teeth from the creatures who lived in the sea, providing an opportunity for those visiting the NSC to see some of the fossils in the visitor centre.

Gradually the movement of the tectonic plates and pressure and heat on the buried sediments of the blue lagoon resulted in the limestones found today in Derbyshire and other parts of the Peak District. They have been (and still are) used to build the towns and villages of the region, giving it the distinctive identity that makes it such a popular place to live and visit.

Ian Thomas receives the Distinguished Service Award of the Geological Society

Ian Thomas, the founding Director of the National Stone Centre, was the recipient of the 2022 Distinguished Service Award from the Geological Society of London.

The Geological Society’s Distinguished Service Award is presented annually in recognition of a member who has made an outstanding contribution to advancing the profession and science of geology. Ian was presented with his Award at a ceremony on 8 June at the Geological Society’s headquarters at Burlington House, The Strand, London.

When the news that Ian was to receive the Award went public, he said: “Naturally, I am personally absolutely delighted to learn of the Society’s decision to honour me but, in a broader sense, I see it as an endorsement of all we have achieved and are planning to do at the National Stone Centre by enhancing geological interests nationally.”

Ian initiated the concept of the National Stone Centre as long ago as 1980. A decade later it opened as a registered charity in Wirksworth (see main story).

Ruth Allington, an IQ and NSC Trustee who is President of the Geological Society, said: “It’s wonderful that Ian has been recognised for his lifelong dedication to the science of geology by his peers through this award. His passion for the subject is inspiring and without it we wouldn’t have the facilities at the National Stone Centre to spark that passion in the next generation.”

Cliveden Conservation, one of England’s best known stone and conservation specialists, is becoming even more widely appreciated as it appears in a new BBC heritage series.

The first episode of Hidden Treasures of the National Trust was broadcast on BBC Two in the prime-time 9pm slot on 12 May. It is also available on BBC iPlayer.

During the series members of Cliveden Conservation’s team  explain the work involved in maintaining  some of the country’s most beautiful and historic buildings as the BBC goes behind the velvet ropes that normally block the public from entering.

The six-part series follows experts, including those from Cliveden Conservation, as they breathe new life into fragile marvels, uncover hidden stories, and strive to keep the past alive. 

In the first episode, Cliveden’s Douglas Carpenter is recorded making casts of 2,000-year-old fragile marble antiquities from the collection amassed by Victorian James Bateman at Biddulph Grange in Staffordshire. The facsimiles will be returned to the Geological Gallery where the originals were once displayed to remove the originals from any risk of damage.

The series is also showcasing stories of the gardens and landscapes within which these properties sit.

In another episode Cliveden is seen carrying out a condition survey and repairs to the masonry of a historic Venetian window at Ightham Mote in Kent.

Then it’s over to Mount Stewart in Northern Ireland where conservators reinstate the unique storm damaged sculptures on the Dodo Terrace.

All together members of the Cliveden team appear in four of the six episodes. 

Tom Flemons, a Director and conservator at Cliveden Conservation, who appears in the series, says: “Working with the film makers added a new dimension to our projects. It allowed us to step back and appreciate what a privilege it is to be involved with The National Trust’s treasures.”

DUST. IT CAN KILL. NOT TODAY. BUT YEARS DOWN THE LINE. DON’T RISK YOUR OR YOUR WORKERS' LONG-TERM HEALTH. PROTECT LUNGS FROM DUST.

That’s the message from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) as it embarks on another campaign to tackle silica and wood dust on construction sites.

It says workers die every week from lung diseases caused by exposure to dust. Many more suffer from severe chronic long-term lung conditions that severely restrict their activities.

It wants to make sure companies and their employees know the dangers. So, starting on 15 May and lasting for three months, HSE is carrying out a targeted health inspection initiative focusing on the respiratory risks to construction workers from exposure to silica and wood dust. 

The inspection initiative will last until 14 July in support of the HSE Dust Kills campaign. HSE says the intention is to support industry by raising awareness of health issues related to dust exposure and the importance of effective control measures. 

To find out more about the campaign and what you can do to fight dust exposure, visit the campaign website: Construction Dust – Work Right to keep Britain safe. 

You should also download HSE’s dust fact sheets to plan your work to stop dust getting into the air and use the right controls. There is an information sheet specially for stonemasons that can be downloaded from the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg463.htm.

HSE’s Dust Kills campaign provides free advice to businesses and workers on control measures required to prevent exposure to dust. The inspections throughout May, June and July will focus on making sure that advice is being followed.

That advice says dust risks should be managed with effective measures in line with the broad hierarchy of control options: water suppression, dust extraction and, as a last resort, respiratory protective equipment (RPE) – in other words masks.

HSE’s chief inspector of construction, Michael Thomas, says: “Every year we see construction workers die from diseases caused or made worse by their work. This is unacceptable in the 21st century, when occupational lung disease is preventable.

“We are urging employers and workers to take the necessary precautions today to protect their long-term lung health, to avoid them and their families suffering from the devastating impact that can result.”

HSE says the primary aim of the inspection initiative is to ensure workers’ health is being protected. But it warns that inspectors will not be ignoring other issues and if any other health & safety issues are discovered inspectors will take the necessary action to deal with them.