A COMMUNITY is up in arms at plans to make changes to a nearby quarry.
The planning application by G&K Edwards, owners of the Maes Y Droell Quarry, Graianrhyd, includes the “importation of inert waste materials for recycling and use in the restoration of the quarry workings".
Ceris Jones, who lives adjacent to the main village road through Graianrhyd said residents will not let this proposal be passed without a ‘fight’.
“This is the third battle we have fought in 15 years,” said Ms Jones.
“There have been three different owners and each one has tried to undertake something new or extend the quarry workings.
“This proposal is thinly veiled behind a restoration programme for the quarry but this will take 30 years to complete and in the mean time local residents will have to endure increased levels of noise and dust pollution as well as vibrations which cause structural damage to property.
“This is essentially a commercial enterprise thinly disguised as a restoration project which the residents are not prepared to accept without a fight!.”
Ms Jones said the main concern is the increase of traffic, if passed, this proposal would involved on the narrow country roads.
“It has been estimated that an extra 70x20tonne lorries would be arriving/leaving the quarry each working day and as we already have issues with speeding HGVs this would considerably increase the problem.
“A recent traffic survey carried out by Denbighshire County Council's highway department on the 30mph stretch of road through Graianrhyd revealed that 85 per cent of HGVs travelled at speeds in excess of 40mph.
“This quarry has been a "bad neighbour" for many years and unfortunately this will not be remedied if it is granted permission to increase its activities.
“The document does refer to incoming traffic, with 38 HGVs, but it doesn’t refer to outgoing traffic - which will double to 76.
“The local employment will not benefit either, as it only envisages employing five people.”
Ms Jones and other residents said they will be ‘out in force’ to meet with the case officer for the county at the next Llanarmon yn Ial Community Council meeting on September 7.
The planning application can be viewed at www.denbighshire.gov.uk/planning using the planning application reference 15/2011/0692 to access it.
A spokeswoman from Denbighshire County Council said: “An application has been submitted to Denbighshire County Council and will be considered by members of the planning committee in due course as part of the democratic process.”