AN old quarry on the edge of Catterick seems set to be used as a tip despite objections from a parish council and people who live nearby.

The village resisted Pallett Hill Sand and Gravel Company's proposals when they were first submitted in the summer of 2001.

A public meeting on the issue agreed using the land for dumping building rubble and other inert waste would disturb ducks, geese and other bird life which arrives every year to breed.

Neighbours' views were also supported by Richmondshire District Council which - as a consultee - urged the North Yorkshire county authority to reject the scheme.

However, next week, the district authority will be urged to drop its resistance to the project in the light of the news that the nearby A1 is to be upgraded to motorway standard.

Catterick Parish Council remains adamant that the Department of Transport's plans to build a link road to the three-lane carriageway just north of the village should have no bearing on the application for the tip.

It is worried local roads will not be able to cope with more lorries rumbling in and out of Pallett Hill Quarry while it is also feared, if the tip is allowed to go ahead, it will be difficult to monitor what kind of waste ends up there.

However, in a report to be tabled when Richmondshire District Council's environment committee meets at the authority's Richmond headquarters on Tuesday evening, planning officer Brian Hodges points out the authority may find it hard to continue its objections.

The motorway means the area in the application set aside for tipping has been reduced by 75 per cent while any argument over the impact on local wildlife is likely to be superseded by consultation on the route of the new stretch of A1.

"It does not seem that the council could reasonably continue to resist this small tipping operation - certainly on the grounds of disturbance to wildlife interests," writes Mr Hodges.

"The issues brought forward by Catterick Parish Council do not outweigh that conclusion."