Vow to fight quarry plan

A controversial quarry scheme on land on the Dudley/Staffordshire border has been thrown into doubt after bosses vowed to fight "any new quarry".

Contractor FG Davis wants to quarry land at the back of Dudley Kingswinford Rugby Club off Swindon Road, Wall Heath and has submitted plans it wants included in Staffordshire County Council's Minerals Core Strategy.

However the council's regeneration and infrastructure chief said today the new Tory administration would almost certainly be opposed to the scheme.

Councillor Robert Marshall said: "In simple English any new quarry will be almost certainly opposed and any extension to any existing quarry will be potentially opposed. Before we agreed to any new scheme such as the Mile Flat we would have to be satisfied all other options have been exhausted.

"There will be a number of tough boxes groups looking to quarry have to tick and that will be going in our Minerals Core Strategy."

FG Davis had originally applied to quarry two sprawling sites at the back of DK Rugby Club but pulled out of the larger scheme amid a public backlash.

Councillor Dave Tyler, ward member for Kingswinford South and Wall Heath who has led a campaign against the quarries, said today the Conservative administration's stance was a massive boost.

Residents living near the proposed site have expressed concerns about the volume of traffic, particularly heavy goods vehicles, which the site would attract as well as worries about dirt and noise. They say it is an inappropriate site.