ENGLISH Heritage has made its position clear in the controversy over proposed quarrying extensions around three ancient monuments near Bedale.

A group campaigning to protect the surroundings of the Thornborough henges has welcomed a statement by English Heritage that it will resist any further mineral extraction until the archaeological value of the landscape is better understood.

Concern for the landscape around the henges has been growing since Tarmac Northern announced in 2002 that it wanted to extend workings in a bid to secure the future of Nosterfield quarry.

The company is expected to submit a planning application soon for an extension at Ladybridge Farm, north of the existing quarry, and has indicated that it will seek inclusion of Thornborough Moor, which contains the henges, as a preferred area for extraction when the existing local minerals plan is reviewed between now and 2006.

Tarmac Northern owns Thornborough Moor and two of the Neolithic henges, which are older than Stonehenge.

Dr Jan Harding, of Newcastle University, is being funded by English Heritage to undertake archaeological research on the Thornborough landscape.

The English Heritage statement said: "Until the archaeological value of the landscape surrounding the henges is better understood, English Heritage is firmly opposed to any further gravel extraction in the Ladybridge Farm area.

"English Heritage believes that any extraction within the Thornborough Moor area would have a substantial and detrimental impact on the archaeological environment and the setting of the henges.

"We will therefore resist the inclusion of Thornborough Moor as a preferred area in the revised minerals local plan through our role as statutory consultee in the planning process."

A spokesman for the Friends of Thornborough said: "We strongly support English Heritage in its proposals and insist that the value of our heritage is worth more than the profit on the gravel, which can be quarried elsewhere without damaging valuable monuments."

Tarmac Northern has confirmed it will defer any attempt to move on to Thornborough Moor until the recommendations of a conservation and management strategy are known.

Campaigners are concerned about the effects of existing extractions at Nosterfield quarry, outside the henges area, but English Heritage said it had no statutory authority to limit or prevent them.

Permission had been granted by North Yorkshire County Council, subject to archaeological sampling demanded as a condition by the heritage unit of the authority.