Villagers 'relieved' after quarry plans rejected

Campaigners celebrate outside County Hall following the announcement

Plans for a new quarry that would have extracted hundreds of thousands of tonnes of gravel and sand have been rejected by a council.

Breedon Trading Limited wanted to dig a 55-acre pit in the village of Haddiscoe, near Lowestoft.

Residents who started a campaign group to fight the plans said they were "relieved" by Friday's decision.

Norfolk County Council's planning committee, which refused the proposals, said it would have had an "adverse" impact on the landscape.

The site is currently part of Manor Farm, off Crab Apple Lane

Plans for the pit involved extracting 650,000 tonnes of gravel and 510,000 tonnes of sand over seven years.

Villagers were concerned about the potential impact of noise, dust and an increase in HGV traffic.

Sari Kelsey, part of the Stopit2 campaign group, said she was "overwhelmed" and "overjoyed" with the decision

"For some reason there seems to be a need to constantly want to dig our village up, and we want to look after it," she said.

If approved, the gravel pit - roughly the size of 26 football pitches - would have been the fourth quarry to be dug in Haddiscoe since the 1960s.

Campaigners spent £40,000 fighting the latest plans.

Sari Kelsey said tourists thought the idea of "spoiling the area" was "unbelievable"

Norfolk County Council's planning committee voted unanimously to refuse the application.

William Richmond, a Conservative councillor and member of the planning regulatory committee, said the proposals would have an "adverse change to the landscape".

"Other potential negative factors include increased noise dust and traffic," he added.