The Heritage Project is located on Graymont property, near its plant in Bedford. The project site overlaps the territory of three municipalities; the City of Bedford, the County of Bedford and the Municipality of Stanbridge Station. The Heritage Project brings added value to the region by creating a new Regional Park and wooded green space that will be accessible to all and will harmonize with the local landscape.
Graymont has operated a lime production plant in Bedford for more than 20 years. The company employs some 70 workers, most of whom live in the region, and generates economic benefits that account for almost 15 % of Greater Bedford’s GDP (according to a 2013 study by Génivar, now WSP). Graymont works hard to contribute to the region’s well-being and quality of life by investing in the community and maintaining an open and honest relationship with its neighbours.
Limestone is the only component used in the production of lime. However, due to the specific geological formations in Bedford, the extraction of limestone also generates substantial quantities of stone (black slate) overburden with no commercial value. After more than 20 years of operations, Graymont faced an important challenge with respect to continuing its activities in the region: find a way to dispose of some 32 million tonnes of slate that has accumulated on its site. It was in searching for a sustainable solution, which would enable the plant to maintain its activities while limiting its impact on the environment, agriculture and neighbours, that the Heritage Project was conceived.
The Heritage Project was conceived following numerous discussions, with the help and support of key local players. Since 2012, the community has been actively involved in planning for the project, most notably at the municipal level. A comprehensive Development Plan detailing plans for the project was presented to local authorities and citizens. Discussions were concluded in 2016, with the signing of individual agreements with the City of Bedford, the County of Bedford and the Municipality of Stanbridge Station. The project also received approval from Quebec’s Commission de protection du territoire agricole (CPTAQ) and authorization certificates from the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, following completion of a compliance-assessment process. Graymont is now awaiting the issuance of final permits before launching the development phase.
Creation of the Heritage Project means that Graymont’s Bedford plant will be able to continue pursuing its industrial activities and maintaining local jobs. Over the next several years, the unusable stone overburden will be progressively disposed to create three landscaped hills that will be revegetated into a public Regional Park and green space. The project also includes significant investments in a variety of other community projects.
Working life of the Bedford plant extended
Local direct and indirect jobs maintained
Graymont’s substantial contributions to the local economy sustained
Creation of a new Graymont-financed Regional Park
Significant investments in other community projects
It is with a spirit of openness and dialogue that Graymont will now undertake the realization of the Heritage Project. The site’s landscaping involves a two-step process:
The first step consists in creating the Regional Park and its core infrastructure. Among other things, this phase will include construction of a reception center, hiking paths, an amphitheatre, a children’s playground and water fountains, along with the smallest of three hills planned for the project, which will be situated nearest to Bedford’s residential area. This phase of the construction will last approximately five years.
Going forward, other sections of the site will be progressively landscaped into a densely wooded green space. It is here that the largest hill planned for the site will be situated.
For more details, visit the Development Plan page.
Before proceeding with the final planning and construction of the Heritage Project, Graymont undertook a pilot project, dubbed the ‘Mini-Heritage’. This essentially involved construction of an acoustic wall near the Bedford plant along with other initiatives aimed at creating conditions similar to the hills that will make up the new Regional Park and green space. It was here that the tests concerning hill stability and soil revegetation were conducted.
The Maska Project, which involved construction by Graymont of another small hill on a neighbouring property (owned by Pavage Maska) in Stanbridge Station, allowed for the testing of different building techniques aimed at reducing the impacts associated with the construction of the hills planned for the Heritage Project.