THE fate of a popular wildlife habitat is in the balance, following a bid to use the area for tipping waste.

The pond, at Pallett Hill Quarry on the edge of Catterick Village, attracts a substantial variety of birds, many flying in to breed in the spring and staying through the summer months.

Wild willow has also seeded along the banks, creating an oasis for other species between Catterick Racecourse and the nearby A1.

Pallet Hill Sand and Gravel Company Ltd has asked North Yorkshire County Council for permission to use the site to tip rubble from building sites over the next eight years - prompting an outcry from some people with homes nearby who want the proposal blocked.

However, tomorrow it is the district authority's chance to comment.

Planners will see a report which confirms that as many as three trucks a day would use the site.

In the long term, the pond would remain, but its shape would be altered. The self-seeded willows would be chopped down, although they would be replaced with new trees once the tipping is completed, in 2009.

The district authority's officers have recommended that the councillors think hard before they decide on their position.

"On the basis of the details accompanying the application, and the assessment of the tipping operations involved, there is clearly conflict with the notified nature conservation importance of this site,'' said officer Brian Hodges.

"Unless it was clearly demonstrated that the nature conservation interests of the site would remain essentially unaffected - or that the works would result in an improvement to the nature conservation value of the site - it is recommended members raise objections to the proposals,'' he said.