Hills Waste Solutions’ commercial transport depot at Amesbury, near Salisbury is the latest site to change from diesel to sustainable Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) – a move which will reduce fuel-related Carbon (CO₂) emissions by up to 90%.

As Nathan Carr, Hills Waste Solutions’ Divisional Fleet Manager commented: “Following the successful introduction of HVO at our Bristol depot, operations from our Amesbury Recyclables Management Facility, will now also be fuelled using HVO.

“Our commercial refuse vehicles servicing the city of Salisbury and the surrounding area, plus our JCB Telehandler and the Liebherr LH24 now use HVO fuel. This change will help contribute to cleaner air for our commercial customers and the residents of Salisbury – and will also create a more pleasant working environment for our employees, who operate the plant and machinery within the facility itself.”

Neil Pollard, Divisional Director –Commercial Waste Management at Hills Waste Solutions added: “Changing to HVO, which is derived from 100% renewable raw materials and sustainable waste, is another example of our commitment to operating sustainably – which already includes route planning to minimise mileage and driver training to ensure that vehicles are driven in a careful manner to help optimise fuel efficiency.”

“This move isn’t just about Hills Waste Solutions; it’s about supporting businesses in the Salisbury area that share our commitment to sustainability. By utilising HVO-powered waste collection vehicles, we’re enabling businesses to reduce their end-to-end environmental impact, not just within their own operations, but as part of their sustainability commitments applied to their supply chain.”

Leading Swindon based company, The Hills Group, has appointed new Managing Directors for its Waste Solutions and Homes divisions. Both successful candidates have been promoted from within the business and will start their roles on 01 May 2025.

Neil Pollard has been promoted from Divisional Director – Commercial, to Divisional Managing Director, Waste Solutions; whilst Mark Tinson has been promoted from Operations Director, to Divisional Managing Director, Homes.

Mike Hill, Chief Executive of The Hills Group commented: “Hills is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2025, so I am reassured that the stewardship and future success of our Waste Solutions and Homes divisions is secure in the hands of Neil and Mark. I would like to congratulate them both on their appointments and wish them all the best in their new roles.”

Neil Pollard said: “I am delighted to be taking up the role of Divisional Managing Director – Waste Solutions. The next few years promises to be an exciting time for our business – and with the considerable talent and continued hard work of the Waste team, I’m confident we can maximise these opportunities and drive the business forward together.”

Ed Dodd, Deputy Chief Executive of The Hills Group commented on Neil Pollard’s appointment: “When the new role of Divisional Managing Director – Waste Solutions was advertised, it attracted a high calibre of applications, but Neil was the standout candidate given the positive impact he has had on our commercial operations, his industry knowledge and his vision for the future growth of our business.”

Mark Tinson, commented on his appointment: “There will no doubt be new challenges and opportunities ahead, but the guidance that retiring Group Director Nick King has given me, over the last three years make me feel that I am well prepared to meet them head on.”

Nick King added: “I am delighted and reassured that after 30 years involvement with Hills, since building the first Hills Home, I am handing over the reins to Mark’s very capable hands. He has shown in his role as Operations Director, a focus and commitment to quality, which I am sure will help the business push forward in the coming years.”

The appointments of Neil and Mark completes a reorganisation of the senior leadership team at Hills which saw Steve Huntly join Hills Quarry Products as Divisional Managing Director in November 2024, following the retirement of long-serving Group Director Pete Andrew.

Hills Quarry Products has once again delayed the opening of all its sites on the first day back to work in the new year, to allow employees to participate in health and safety training.

Dedicating the first day back at work to focus on health and safety matters began back in 2016, and remains an important part of the company’s ongoing ‘Safer for All’ campaign. The training sessions were held across operational sites in Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Berkshire, Dorset, and Devon – where Hills operates sand and gravel quarries and ready-mixed concrete production plants.

Steve Huntly, Divisional Managing Director Hills Quarry Products, said: “By starting the new year with these training sessions, we are reinforcing our philosophy that health and safety will always be a top priority and we will continue to deliver improvements in employee safety and wellbeing.”

Kicking off the training with a personal message from Steve Huntly, the sessions highlighted a number of key areas of health and safety performance including – the ongoing need for proactive near miss reporting, the importance of situational awareness around plant and machinery, and culminated with each team walking around their own site to identify any potential hazards.

Steve added: “I am encouraged that our operational teams have once again committed to prioritise health and safety for the year ahead. The training sessions have been undertaken with enthusiasm and a collaborative approach which will help ensure that we keep Hills’ sites Safer for All.”

Ben Harman, CEO at Threshold commented: “Christmas can be a particularly difficult time if you are facing homelessness, but thanks to the generous donation from The Hills Group and all our incredible supporters, we can continue to provide a safe place to live, and personalised support to people who are homeless every day of the year.”

As a family business with strong core values, The Hills Group actively supports local charities, groups and causes throughout the year with direct funding and support through the Landfill Communities Fund where applicable.

Mike Hill, Chief Executive, The Hills Group said: “We pride ourselves on the support we give to a wide range of charities every year. We hope that these donations help Threshold Housing Link, Julia’s House, and Swindon Domestic Abuse Support Service to
continue the amazing services they all provide.”

Hills Quarry Products’ has continued its mineral partnership with the Wellcome Trust and Urban & Civic plc – entering into a long term agreement for sand and gravel extraction at the former RAF airfield site near Down Ampney, Gloucestershire.

The agreement for the 178 hectare Airfield Quarry site with reserves of c. 6.5 million tonnes of sand and gravel, will create around 50 jobs directly, plus generate work for other local businesses, and inject up to £2m per year into the local economy.
The site will include an aggregate processing plant, a concrete plant and a bagging operation with the associated infrastructure of silt lagoons, offices, welfare facilities, wheel wash and weigh-bridge

Peter Andrew, Development Consultant, Hills Quarry Products said: “We are delighted to have secured an agreement on the Airfield Quarry site. It has taken a tremendous team effort between Hills and Urban & Civic to get to this stage, and we do not underestimate our responsibility, having been entrusted with the management and restoration of this important historical site through the phased extraction of essential minerals.

“I would like to extend my thanks to Lesley Loane and the team at Land and Mineral Management whose help has been invaluable throughout the planning process. Inline with the planning permission, we can now commence the first steps on-site, with the continuation of archaeological surveys, followed by the installation of site infrastructure and plant later in the year.”

Adam Pratt, development director at Urban&Civic, commented: “Down Ampney continues to make a significant contribution to the resilience of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire’s mineral supplies. The Airfield is the next phase of extraction on the estate, and we are delighted to be extending Urban&Civic’s working partnership with Hills.”

Swindon-based business, The Hills Group, has embraced its festive spirit by donating to three local charities, in place of sending out Christmas cards this year.

Threshold Housing Link, Julia’s House, and Swindon Domestic Abuse Support Service were welcomed to Hills’ head office in Swindon and presented with £250 each for their respective charities for the second consecutive year.

Business Development and Corporate Fundraiser for Julia’s House, Jo Common said: “Here at Julia’s House, we receive just eight per cent funding from the Government, so really do rely on public support and donations to continue to provide our critical care to the most seriously ill children and their families in the local community. Without that support we wouldn’t exist. We are therefore so grateful for this wonderful donation from Hills Group – as donations like this one are vital in enabling us to continue to provide a lifeline of care to the increasing number of local families who rely on us.”

Collecting the donation on behalf of Swindon Domestic Abuse Support Service, Kate Rowland, Interim CEO, Swindon Women’s Aid said: “Swindon Women’s Aid were delighted to learn that we were once again chosen to be a recipient of a donation from The Hills Group. Kind donations such as this genuinely make such a difference and will be used to support our work with children and young people impacted by domestic abuse, and our work to prevent abuse happening in the future.”

The Hills Group is delighted to announce that Steve Huntly has been appointed to the new position of Divisional Managing Director – Quarry Products.

Steve will join the company on Monday 04 November and will oversee all aspects of Hills Quarry Products’ business including its seven sand and gravel quarry sites and eight ready-mixed concrete plants supplying the Southwest region.

Commenting on his appointment, Steve Huntly said: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining Hills Quarry Products, which is such a well-respected business in the industry with a successful track record. It is an exciting time of change to be coming on board the business – and I look forward to meeting the whole team later in the year and working with them to drive revenue growth and business development.”

Steve enjoyed a long career with Cemex which culminated in his appointment as Regional Managing Director for their Southern Region. He then moved into several other leadership roles including General Manager – South, for Saint Gobain, and most recently as Managing Director for Coram UK.

Congratulating Steve on his appointment, Mike Hill, Chief Executive of The Hills Group said: “Steve will bring extensive experience to the position of Divisional Managing Director – Quarry Products, having held a number of senior leadership roles in different industries throughout his career. We look forward to welcoming Steve into the business.”

Steve’s appointment follows the news that popular industry figure Pete Andrew, will be retiring from his role as Group Director – Quarry Products at the end of 2024, after 25 years of service. Pete will remain engaged with Hills in an advisory capacity.

Pete Andrew reflected: “It has been an honour and a privilege working with the talented and dedicated team within Hills Quarry Products. I would also like to extend my genuine thanks to the Hill family, whose welcome some 25 years ago and subsequent support over the years has been much appreciated.

“I look back with pride at the success and growth Hills Quarry Products has achieved during my tenure, through securing and extending new quarry sites, establishing new business partnerships and expanding our network of ready-mixed concrete plants. I look forward to welcoming Steve to the business and working together to ensure a smooth handover.”

Hills Waste Solutions has continued its support for community football, as sponsors of the Sustainable Club Award at the Wiltshire FA – Grassroots Football Excellence Awards. The ceremony took place at the Village Hotel, Swindon on Friday 20 September, with Westbury Youth FC scooping the Sustainable Club of the Year Award, for their environmentally friendly youth football tournament.

Darren John, Sales Manager at Hills Waste Solutions collected the award on behalf of Cameron Dawes from Westbury Youth FC, commented: “We are delighted to support the Grassroots Football Excellence Awards for a second year. Our sponsorship of the Sustainable Club of the Year award recognises the clubs that are making steps to positively address climate change, whilst showing a commitment to changing behaviour and inspiring the local community to improve the environment.

“Westbury Youth FC are worthy winners this year, as they showed their commitment to the environment when organising their summer tournament. They contacted Hills to provide Darren John, Sales Manager and Laura Martin, Business Development Manager – both Hills Waste Solutions accept the Sustainable Club of the Year Award on behalf of Westbury Youth FC from Dave Ridley, Facility Manager for Wiltshire FA. sustainable waste management for the 166 teams, with a commitment to ensure that waste generated at the tournament was recycled and recovered where at all possible.”

Hills Waste Solutions’ support of sustainability in football extends to its partnership with the Wiltshire Football Association and their Good Game initiative. Good Game seeks to raise awareness about how the football community can help address climate change, whilst signposting clubs and their stakeholders to ideas they can adopt to be greener and more sustainable.

Simon Russell, CEO of Wiltshire FA commented: “I am delighted that Westbury Youth FC has been recognised for their efforts in making their summer tournament as green as possible. It is particularly heartening that recycling efforts are being adopted by the next generation of footballers in Wiltshire. I am also grateful to Hills Waste Solutions for sponsoring the Sustainable Club award and for their ongoing support of our Good Game initiative.”

If any club in Wiltshire wants to find out more about waste management for their club or their
tournaments and events, they can contact Hills Waste Solutions at www.hills-waste.co.uk

We are delighted to announce there has been some further palaeontological activity at one of our quarries near Swindon over the past few weeks, where mammoth fossils continue to be excavated.

This next phase of activity called Mammoth 2.0 has seen further exploration of the site, where in 2019 and 2021 a 200,000-year-old mammoth graveyard was found.

The recent activity has been carried out by our partner Neo Jurassica who are leading experts in this field. They are also working in conjunction with Archaeological Research Services, leading universities, museums and experts to continue this invaluable work on the next chapter of discovery.

The new palaeolithic finds at the site include the remains of steppe mammoth tusks, a pygmy mammoth tooth, several bison vertebrae, a rib and jawbone, wild horse ribs and a partially complete tooth from a cave or brown bear.

James Hogg, Director of Neo Jurassica said: “It was a true pleasure to meet Mike Hill and the team at Hills. If it wasn’t for their support and shared vision of the scientific importance of this site, this multidisciplinary systematic excavation would not have been possible.”

All this fantastic and important material is being conserved at the Yorkshire Natural History Museum in Sheffield, which will be accessible to researchers across the UK. The scope for this second phase of the investigation is vast. By amassing a large collection of mammoth bones, much can be learned about thesize and social structure of their herds and how this compares to modern elephants.

It is hugely important for Hills to be involved in work like this. Quarrying is fundamental in recreating biodiverse habitats, wet woodlands and enhancing nature. Whilst this is not always seen, it highlights the scientific importance of this site and how cooperation can benefit both the quarrying and scientific industries.

Peter Andrew, Group Director, Hills Quarry Products said: “It’s a fantastic site and it just keeps on giving. We are looking forward to next year when we will welcome more teams of experts to carry out the next part of the excavation.”

As the area is not accessible and is normally underwater, the excavation involved dewatering the area using water pumps. Upon completion of the current investigation, the area was restored as a temporary lake.

There has been recent press speculation relating to the company’s decision to end its working relationship with DigVentures at our Cerney Wick quarry near Swindon.

This has led to several unsubstantiated and incorrect claims regarding the next phase of archaeological activity at the site relating to the mammoth finds in 2017 that are unhelpful to the future of the project.

As a family-owned business we are extremely proud of our long association of supporting archaeological investigations and academic research linked to discoveries at our sites. This is something to which Hills Quarry Products remain committed and we will continue working with the country’s leading professional and academic research organisations to help better understand and secure items of archaeological and palaeontological interest including the Cerney Mammoths for the nation.

Trucks from Hills Waste Solutions will be unmissable on the streets of Bristol and Bath, thanks to eye‐catching new graphics celebrating the move from diesel to Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) – a change which will reduce fuel‐related Carbon (CO2) emissions by up to 90%. The striking new design features some iconic landmarks from the local area including: the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the colourful terraces of Cliftonwood and the arches of Pulteney Bridge in Bath.

Nathan Carr, Hills Waste Solutions ‐ Divisional Fleet Manager commented: “The livery for our new trucks looks great and will help reinforce our commitment to not only managing waste sustainably but also powering our operations in a more environmentally friendly way. That’s why we have chosen to go the extra mile and fuel our Bristol and Bath fleet with HVO, as it can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 90%.”

Neil Luce, Operations Manager at Hills Waste Solutions added: “Our customers in and around Bristol and Bath will be able to demonstrate improvements in their own supply chain sustainability goals, by using a supplier who is cutting emissions when removing waste from their premises.”