A QUARRY company’s extension plans were approved by planners yesterday, so that County Durham can keep up with demand for sand and gravel.

Sherburn Sand will be able to extract an extra 1.35 million tonnes of limestone and sand at Crime Rig Quarry, near Shadforth, despite being refused permission three times in the past.

Durham County Council’s planning committee agreed to the extension after hearing from officer John Byers that stocks had become depleted since a company plan was last turned down six years ago following a public inquiry.

Mr Byers said: “In 2003, there was no need for the materials.

At that time, there were 8.8 million tonnes of sand and gravel, and a 25-year landbank.”

Now, he said, reserves had shrunk to 2.3 million tonnes and were below the minimum recommended by the Government.

The extra extraction, he said, would be carried out within the quarry’s agreed lifetime.

The Ramblers’ Association and the City of Durham Trust both objected to the extension, because a bridleway will have to be moved.

They also raised concerns about creating an access to the quarry north of the B1283, taking traffic through a new tunnel to the north-east corner of the site.

Mr Byers said the grounds for objection were not strong enough to warrant refusal, and the diversion of the bridleway was acceptable.

New footpaths would eventually be created as part of a restoration scheme, which must be completed by December 2024.

He said the scheme was not unacceptable visually and there would be measures to control noise and dust set out in conditions imposed by the planning agreement.

Sherburn Sand will get access to the workings by removing a stone barrier separating them from the original quarry.

It plans to extract 170,000 tonnes of limestone and sand from the barrier, and 1.18 million tonnes from the extended quarry.

The company said the sand at Crime Rigg was high quality basal Periman sand, which is used in the manufacture of mortar, screeds, concrete and asphalt.