The company has yet to appoint a contractor for the job.

Castle commercial director Michael Eberlin told builderandengineer.co.uk the company expects the market for cement to grow.

He explained: “We see cement demand getting stronger going forward with the Barker report showing a shortage of housing stock. Infrastructure is poor in water, roads and rail, and there are major projects like Thames Gateway, the Olympic site and Cross Rail coming up.”

The company said the new milling capacity will enable it to manufacture most of its cement in the UK. Eberlin said this means the company can keep track of the product’s environmental credentials.

He said: “We don’t subscribe to the point of view of importing cement from somewhere with lower environmental standards. If the government wants to put environmental taxes on UK production, it will force imports from places with lower environmental stands. We have amongst the best technology in the world for sustainable production.”