Altered lithium plant plan approved

A lithium extraction plant is to be built after amended plans were unanimously given the go-ahead.

The Weardale Lithium facility will be at the former cement works at Eastgate, near Stanhope, County Durham, which has been empty for 20 years.

Original plans for the facility, which will process lithium brine mineral resources, have been redrafted, detailing that planning permission will be sought for pipeline routes.

Durham County councillor Craig Martin said the derelict site had been a "blot on the landscape" and the project would benefit the economy.

The former cement works closed in 2002 with the loss of nearly 200 jobs.

Its quarry was previously used by ITV to film the series Beowulf.

The site would supply the battery industry and create hundreds of jobs over its lifetime, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Weardale Lithium's Stewart Dickson said: "This is an innovative, eye-catching and important economic and social project for the area.

"We believe this is the first step to unlocking the entire resource potential of Weardale."

The application was amended after consultation responses.

It now details plans for temporary development but with permanent planning permission sought for pipeline routes.

The development's duration has also been reduced from permanent permission to 15 years for the pilot plant.

In December 2024, it was confirmed that all above-ground structures would be removed at the end of the development.

John Shuttleworth, county councillor for Weardale, said: "I fully support this, it's going to bring jobs to the area, and it can only be good."

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