Brick maker Forterra completes purchase of 200 acre site near Peterborough

The site, which forms part of Must Farm Quarry, in Whittlesey, comes with planning permission for clay extraction.

Stephen Harrison, chief executive of Forterra, said: “Our investment here will enable us to continue preserving and developing Britain’s homes well into the 21st century.

“This substantial acquisition of clay-bearing land in the vicinity of our Kings Dyke brickworks will provide long-term reserves for the ongoing production of our London Bricks.

“In securing this purchase, we are safeguarding supply to this facility – and, crucially, to our range of customers nationwide – for decades to come.”

London Brick, which has been made in the area for more than 140 years, is produced solely by Forterra at its Kings Dyke works, which has just celebrated its 50th anniversary, and is used mostly for residential renovation, maintenance and improvement.

The raw material from beneath Must Farm Quarry is Lower Oxford Clay, which dates back to the Jurassic period and forms part of a geological deposit stretching from Yorkshire to Dorset.

The company says the clay has a unique self-burning quality that makes it an especially efficient material, ideal for brickmaking, which has given the Whittlesey region its rich brickmaking heritage.