A COUNCIL has been accused of unfairness when it approved a controversial quarry extension.

Durham County Council backed Lafarge Aggregates’ plan to extend Thrislington Quarry east of the A1(M) in October last year.

Objector Eric Potts, of Bishop Middleham, County Durham, has reported the authority’s action to the Local Government Ombudsman in an attempt to have the decision reviewed.

The scheme is for the 112-hectare quarry to be extended by 78 hectares, with about 30 million tonnes of magnesian limestone extracted over the next 32 years.

Mr Potts, a member of the protest group Stop Lafarge Action Group (Slag), was among more than 1,300 people who objected to the scheme.

They argued that it will create extra dust, noise and traffic, opposed the loss of farmland and said the limestone was not needed.

Lafarge said the extension would maintain more than 100 jobs and support the UK steel and chemical industries, which use burnt lime products generated at the quarry, which will be restored to grassland, woodland and a lake following quarrying.

But Mr Potts believes the need for further quarrying was not proven to councillors and that objectors were unfairly treated when both sides presented their case to the planning committee.

He says a wealth of evidence shows insufficient demand for burnt dolomite because the country’s steel industry is in decline.

He also complained that before the meeting, officers agreed to show a film compiled by Slag to support its arguments, but the equipment failed during the objectors’ presentation.

He said the council’s explanation was that there may have been a power surge as County Hall staff accessed the internet during a lunchbreak.

Mr Potts feels objectors were forced to present their case without the supporting DVD and in restricted time.

A spokesman for the Local Government Ombudsman yesterday said no decision had been made on the request.

If the case is taken up, an investigator could recommend the council review the decision.

The council said it would be inappropriate to comment until a decision had been made by the Ombudsman.