CONSULTATION on controversial gravel extraction and landfill sites in Norfolk countryside, including proposed sites at Haddiscoe and Earsham, is to be extended by about four weeks.

CONSULTATION on controversial gravel extraction and landfill sites in Norfolk countryside, including proposed sites at Haddiscoe and Earsham, is to be extended by about four weeks.

Norfolk County Council is extending its six-week consultation on 104 proposed quarries and 64 landfill sites, due to end on Friday, after protest groups sprang up across the county to fight schemes on their doorsteps.

In Haddiscoe villagers have stepped up their StoPIT campaign by distributing pamphlets and posters around the village, with other local villages also set to be targeted, and a petition being collated by the campaigners currently has the names of over 100 households

Stephen Farrow, a StoPIT campaign member and Haddiscoe resident, said: “The extension of the consultation period gives us more time to try and make sure everyone is aware in the village and the surrounding villages, and to step up our campaign. We've got to stop the site getting on the preferred list.

“It's not just going to affect us, it will affect other villages as far as Hales, and anyone who uses the B1136. We haven't come across anyone who is remotely in favour of it. The site's right on top of the village, it is a nonsense.”

The council's website has already been accessed about 45,000 times over the proposed sites, needed to meet demand for construction materials and waste disposal up to 2021.

An estimated three million tonnes of sand and gravel and 200,000 tonnes of carstone will be needed from the ground per year up to 2021 to meet growth of a planned 78,000 new homes.

A council spokesman said consultation on proposed sites was to be extended by about four weeks.

The council spokesman said: “It's important for people to bear in mind no decisions have been taken. The sites included have been put forward by landowners and mineral and waste operators. Any of the sites chosen after consultation will still have to apply for planning permission and undergo detailed examination.”

Consultation on the council's overall strategy for quarries and waste sites will still end on Friday. At the moment it suggests larger minerals sites and waste facilities should be close to the main growth areas of Norwich, Yarmouth, King's Lynn and Thetford, with smaller facilities serving growing market towns.

To have your say go to www.norfolk.gov.uk/nmwdf, email ldf@norfolk.gov.uk, call Norfolk County Council on 01603 223219 or write to: Planning Services, Norfolk County Council, Planning and Transportation Department, FREEPOST NC22093/8, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 2BR.

To add your name to the StoPIT campaign in Haddiscoe email rory.kelsey@btinternet.com.