Denfind Stone from Angus, Hutton Stone, which is based in the Borders, and Tradstocks from Stirlingshire have formed the Scottish Stone Group in order to raise awareness around a sector that currently sees about £40.5 million of imports.

The move follows British Geological Survey’s Scotland’s building stone industry: a review, which found that roughly 160 people are currently employed in the stone quarrying and processing industry in Scotland and that the combined turnover of the Scottish Stone Industry is approximately £10m.

The study found that the value of stone imported into Scotland in 2014 was approximately £40.5m, representing 8.8% of the UK total imports.

The three founding companies of the Scottish Stone Group, with over 100 employees between them, account for two-thirds of employees in the industry.

The Scottish Stone Group, with support from a number of organisations in the stone industry, took that message to Holyrood last week, meeting with the minister for business, innovation and energy Paul Wheelhouse MSP.

Hutton Stone’s Marcus Paine, speaking on behalf of the Scottish Stone Group, said: “We want to promote the use of indigenous natural stone and grow the industry, creating more jobs and apprenticeships in Scotland as well as promoting an important environmentally sustainable material.

“The stone sector itself has an important role to promote the industry and outline the benefits of using local stone but we also need political support and understanding of the realities facing our industry. We have a quality product and compelling argument for using indigenous stone and we hope our elected representatives see its worth and help us grow the industry.”

Paul Wheelhouse MSP said: “Scotland has a long, proud history of stone production, as exemplified by our unique built heritage. A resurgent stone industry not only has a role to play in maintaining our existing building stock, but has much to offer in terms of providing a modern sustainable building product – ensuring a sense of place and providing high skilled employment and training opportunities including in rural communities.”