A WEARDALE quarry which has been redundant since the 1980s could be restored under a five-year scheme submitted to Durham County Council.

The Newlandside Quarry in Stanhope is registered as a dormant site, but could be revived after an application was lodged for a review of old mineral permissions.

Premier Waste Management Limited, the company which took over the lease of the site in 1993, wants to remove 500,000 tonnes of previously quarried minerals and stock-piled limestone over five years.

The sale of the materials would then raise money for the restoration of the 68 hectare site, which it is hoped will attract wildlife and benefit birds and animals already present.

Three species on the Royal Society for Protection of Birds' red list of high concern are among 23 types of birds visiting the site, according to a survey by ecologists.

Ashley Cooper, director of regulatory affairs for the company, said: "Premier Waste Management has submitted an application to remove and process previously quarried and extracted material from the Newlandside Quarry in Stanhope.

"We will then carry out a sympathetic restoration to the site to protect and enhance the natural habitats in this area."

After the five-year period, management of the site would be scaled down, with the aim of letting nature take its course.

The scheme would mean work for eight to ten on-site staff and about 20 HGV drivers, and it is hoped that reworking and restoration could generally be achieved in five months of site activity per year.

This would avoid the majority of the bird breeding season, between March and August, with the site being worked between 7am and 6pm, from Monday to Friday, and up to 1pm on a Saturday for the rest of the year.

In 1999, the quarry was used as a worm farm, where high-grade compost was created, but no materials have been extracted for the past two decades.

County councillor John Shuttleworth last night backed the scheme, saying: "It's been such a state for a long time.

"At least now something nice is going to be done, where at the moment it isn't. "