RESIDENTS in a north Durham village have resigned themselves to a nearby landfill site remaining open for an extra six months.

The owners of Hett Hills landfill site, at Grange Villa, near Chester-le-Street, have been granted permission by Durham County Council to operate it until June 2001, because of a shortage of rubble.

Biffa Waste Services blames the landfill tax, introduced in the early 1990s, for a 50 per cent drop in waste being deposited at the 11 hectare site.

An initial capacity of 900,000 cubic metres of waste was due to be fully restored by December this year, but Hett Hill still needs nearly 60,000 cubic metres of rubble and topsoil to complete the scheme.

Despite objections from local residents and Chester-le-Street District Council, planners at County Hall granted Biffa an extra six months to extend its operation.

Barry Weatherburn, of Grange Villa Action Group, said residents are worried that the extension would lead to environmental damage to the village and surrounding area.

He said: "We get a great number of lorries coming through the narrow roads in the village on their way to the tip.

"The roads weren't built for huge lorries carrying waste products. There is also the environmental impact of fly tipping the site.

"People arrive with waste in the evening then just leave it lying around when they find it closed. Another six months of this is very worrying for the village, and we hope this decision doesn't set a precedent."

Tom Watson, planning services manager at Chester-le-Street District Council, said they were disappointed that Hett Hills would continue to operate well into next year.

He said: "We thought that enough was enough, and that's why we objected to the application.

"In areas where we are trying to regenerate communities, this kind of operation does tend to have a knock-on effect."

Barry Walton, spokesman for Biffa, said: "We've had a problem filling the site lately because companies, who are affected by landfill tax, are choosing to recycle their waste instead of using landfill sites.

"Recycling is to be welcomed of course, but it means that Hett Hills will not be restored on schedule.

"We need 30,000 cubic metres of waste, plus 27,000 cubic metres of soil to finish the job. The soil will be used to landscape the area into agricultural use."