Brampton Brick has submitted a proposed Niagara Escarpment Plan Amendment (PP 226 22) to the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) involving our shale quarry operations in Cheltenham. The proposed changes will have a positive impact on the community and will reduce the future impact of our quarrying operations on our neighbours.

About our Cheltenham Quarry 

•  Brampton Brick’s Cheltenham Quarry has been in operation since its approval in 1989. The quarry site has a long history of brick manufacturing, beginning with the establishment of the Cheltenham Brick Works in 1912. These historic structures, while no longer in use, still stand on the site today.
• The quarry is exclusively for the extraction of shale, which is used in the production of bricks.
• The current quarry site consists of three (3) phases. Extraction has been completed in Phase 1, and rehabilitation is mostly complete. Operations are currently active in Phase 2. Site preparation has not yet commenced in Phase 3. 
• All three phases were approved for extraction in 1989, and those permissions remain in place.

Proposed Cheltenham Quarry Applications 

Bricks produced from shale extracted from the Cheltenham Quarry are vital to the production of bricks used for the construction of homes, businesses, and other structures across Southern Ontario. 

Based on Brampton Brick’s anticipated production, the final Phase of extraction will need to commence before the end of this decade, requiring significant upfront planning and preparation. 

Brampton Brick is pursuing an alternative extraction scenario on lands north of the existing Cheltenham Quarry in a two-step process. The primary objective is to reduce impacts to the community and our immediate neighbours by shifting future extraction to a different portion of our site, while permanently foregoing extraction permissions on the currently approved Phase 3. 

However, we believe that there are opportunities to both meet Brampton Brick’s anticipated requirements while better aligning the use of our site. 

• Step 1 (current application) – Niagara Escarpment Plan Amendment to re-designate alternative extraction lands from ‘Escarpment Protection Area’ to ‘Escarpment Rural Area’.  
• Step 2 (future application) – Niagara Escarpment Plan Amendment to re-designate alternative extraction lands from ‘Escarpment Rural Area’ to ‘Mineral Resource Extraction Area’ to permit aggregate extraction. If approved, the existing Phase 3 area will be re-designated to no longer permit extraction. 

Step 1 Application 

This application (PP 226 22) was submitted in October 2022 to the Niagara Escarpment Commission, and approved for circulation and public comment in March 2023. 

Should Brampton Brick’s application be successful, we will immediately proceed with commencing the applications outlined in Step 2.

Anticipated Community and Operational Benefits

Should the full two-step application process be approved, the following benefits will be realized for immediate neighbours, the broader community and Brampton Brick: 

•  Increased separation from the village of Terra Cotta and other residential neighbours.
• Avoid the need to build and extend a road through the Escarpment Natural Area (creek corridor and woodland) to access the currently approved Phase 3, as well as a secondary entrance on Heritage Road with accompanying truck traffic. 
• No aggregate extraction in Phase 3 – now or in the future.
• Expanding Phase 1 to the north, instead of extracting Phase 3, will provide Brampton Brick with increased operational efficiencies and less involved site preparation, reducing the amount of on-site construction and activity required. 

PAST EVENTS

• April 27, 2023 – Public Information Session with residents of Town of Caledon and Terra Cotta.
  See our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) from this event. 
• June 8, 2023 – Proposal posted for public comment on Environmental Registry Ontario

FUTURE EVENTS
Check our Events Page for information on upcoming events. 

Contact Information 
Should you have any questions or comments, please contact [email protected].