RESIDENTS can have their say over controversial plans to turn a former quarry into a landfill site this month.

Private waste management firm Sita wants to use Path Head Quarry, near Ryton, Gateshead, for landfill. Planning permission for the scheme was granted in 1989, but alterations to the site since then mean that the company must seek a fresh permit before it can go ahead.

Gateshead Borough Council, together with the Environment Agency (EA), has set up a series of public consultation sessions, where staff from Sita will explain the proposals and answer questions.

John Burns, of the EA, said Sita would have to convince the agency that harmful emissions could not leak into the surrounding countryside.

The first consultation session takes place at Winlaton library on Wednesday, October 30, from 9.30am to 12.30pm, with a further six planned for November.

For more details, call the council on 0191-433 3000.