RESIDENTS opposed to a huge opencast scheme on their doorstep have been warned to be ready to fight the battle again.

Hall Construction Services (Halls) of Durham want to remove 500,000 tonnes of coal and fireclay at Skons Park, next to the historic Gibside Estate near Burnopfield, in County Durham.

Their plans were rejected by Gateshead Council in 2006 and the company had lodged an appeal to overturn the decision - but this was withdrawn recently.

In a video message, Gateshead councillor Dr Jonathan Wallace has warned that Halls are expected to return with a stronger application later this year.

Coun Wallace, who represents the Gibside area, was one of the leading figures in the battle against the application in 2005 and 2006 and drafted a petition signed by over 16,000 people opposing the plan.

Coun Wallace said: "We need to be focused on defeating the plan when it arrives.

"Halls have learnt their lessons of the past couple of years. They must have realised that their first application was not good enough to survive the scrutiny of a public inquiry.

"They are clearly not going to go away so residents will have to be ready for the battle ahead.

"We need to be ready to fight for this important area of the Derwent Valley."

He added: "We need to be ready to do battle to avoid the disruption to people in their homes along the route the lorries would take if the application went ahead."

The video message will be sent to residents later this month as part of his email newsletter to constituents.

There are fears for the impact the opencast mine would have on communities and the environment surrounding the earmarked site. But there is also concern over its proximity to Gibside, the National Trust estate, and a former home of the Bowes-Lyons, the family of the late Queen Mother.

The company, which claims the coal such an operation would yield would be of high-quality, is seeking to improve its proposed site reclamation package and will submit its scheme in November or December.

Other key figures in the fight have been Blaydon Labour MP Dave Anderson, North-East Euro MP Stephen Hughes and North Durham Labour MP Kevan Jones.

No-one at Halls was available for comment today.