A PUBLIC exhibition about plans to extend the working life of a quarry will be staged today.

Banks Developments is requesting permission to continue operating Hollings Hill Quarry, near Ebchester, County Durham for another 16 years.

An exhibition outlining the company's plans will be on show at Ebchester Community Centre from 3pm to 7pm. The company is seeking the views of local residents on its plans.

The quarry, which was given planning approval in 1988, has been worked for sand and gravel by Tarmac, under licence to Banks, for the past 18 years.

The final stage of the development is for the quarry to be filled with non-hazardous waste followed by landscaping.

However, the company said it would not be possible to complete extraction and the final stage within the approved time, and is, therefore applying, for an extension until 2023.

David Gosling, from Banks Developments, said: "Hollings Hill Quarry is a long-established site whose history stretches back almost two decades, and we wanted to provide an opportunity for local people to find out what the future holds for it.

"The timescale within which we had hoped to complete the approved operations at Hollings Hill will not now be operationally possible, so we will be seeking an extension which will give us the time required to complete mineral extraction and restore the site."