Dive centre plan for quarry?

Craig Burles (34), a PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors) staff instructor, explained that a diving facility would allow controlled access to the quarry and enable it to be used safely and sustainably.

The quarry has claimed the lives of 18-year-olds John McKay and Cameron Lancaster in the past year and there have been calls for it to be drained and filled in, with Cameron’s mum Gillian Barclay fronting a campaign for a commnity takeover of the site.

The Press is also campaigning for action to be taken to prevent a repeat of the recent tragedies.

However, divers would like the quarry – used regularly by diving clubs – to be converted into the first manned facility of its kind in Scotland, with appropriate safety and security measures in place.

Craig told the Press, “It’s about 10 metres deep and we’ve used it about eight or nine years now.

“I’m there about three or four times a week and there are about 30-plus divers in it every week.

“We use it for training and testing out kit – it’s a crucial step between confined water training and open water diving.

“You don’t have any other facility like this in central Scotland. The only other one is Boddam Quarry near Peterhead, it’s about 25m, which is a bit deep for training.

“We already have training platforms in it to work on, the visibility is always good and there are no currents. It’s the perfect depth for perfecting skills.

“It’s very safe to do training in as it gives you the real conditions in terms of depth and clarity that you would get in the sea.” Divers are hoping to meet councillors, community reps and emergency services to discuss the proposal, which Craig said would cost significantly less compared to buying and filling in the quarry.

To make the quarry safe, Craig said there would need to be secure fencing, security cameras, lighting and life-saving equipment – including buoys and pontoons – installed.

He explained, “As a site, it’s the activity you do there, not the actual place.

“I’ve spent 375 hours underwater in there – proving it’s not the quarry itself that’s dangerous, it’s the activity that people choose to do around it.

“If you fill it in, it will just move the problem elsewhere. You could be jumping off the pier 200m away, and it’s in a lot worse condition.

“If it’s filled in, what’s going to cause more damage – landing on concrete or landing on water? A least with water, you have a fighting chance.

“If the area was properly secured and managed, it would make a hell of a difference.

“The dangerous part is the top side of the quarry – it has no fencing. It’s a big drop – if you’re jumping off a 30ft rock face, chances are you could be hitting the bottom.

“It could be a brilliant multi-sport and activity centre with diving, climbing and kayaking – it’s not too big, easy to monitor everybody in the water and there’s no place to hide. Water safety would be very easy to cover.” Craig acknowledged that “there are a few cars” in the quarry but added that there were “not a great deal of hazards in the water”, although fly-tipping is a problem.

He said, “We’ve taken about six tonnes of rubbish out of it. We cleared up the site at the start of the year and keep it tidy but it’s a losing battle – people keep dumping there.

“It sustains a great deal of frogs and fish – the fact that it sustains marine life suggests that it’s very clean. There are pike and perch and people fish there as well.” He stressed the need to take action and make the quarry safe for the public, adding, “It’s more about educating people about the risks of deep water and the consequences.

“If you tell people shouldn’t go there, they’ll still do it.

“But if it’s monitored, people are going to lose interest.

“You can do something positive with it rather than go there for other reasons.”