PROTESTERS were celebrating yesterday (Wednesday) when Mid Beds district councillors supported their objection to another 400-acre quarry on their doorstep. After the hour-long meeting the council s development control committee backed the group by overwh

PROTESTERS were celebrating yesterday (Wednesday) when Mid Beds district councillors supported their objection to another 400-acre quarry on their doorstep.

After the hour-long meeting the council's development control committee backed the group by overwhelmingly voting against Tarmac Ltd's plans for another quarry south of Broom.

Its decision will now be forwarded to Bedfordshire County Council which will make a final decision on the planning application by mid-summer.

"We are absolutely delighted," said Jean Collins, vice-chairman of the stanfordbroomquarry protest group who addressed councillors.

"We didn't expect the support for us to be so overwhelming so there is now hope we can win this fight and have some peace after all these years of quarrying around the village.

"At the end of the day we wanted to see the councillors we had voted for supporting us and we were delighted we did.

"Quarrying has brought misery to the village and if we get another quarry it could mean a total of 33 years of quarrying in and around Broom which is totally unfair.

"Broom needs a respite from quarrying. It is wrong we should continue suffering. Another quarry after the one to the north of the village has closed could mean over 30 years of quarrying around the village.

"The noise and dust would disrupt the landscape and harm the environment and also mean 190 lorries a day along the B658. Now we just hope the county council will listen to what Mid Beds District Council and we have said."

A spokesman for MBDC said: "The committee agreed to object to an application for minerals extraction in land near Broom.

"Their concerns include the impact of the proposed development on highway traffic on the B658, particularly noise levels due to operations on the site, impact on the landscape and site restoration.

"Despite our objection, Mid Beds District Council is only a consultee on this application by Tarmac Ltd, and has no say on the outcome of this application."

Since the announcement by Tarmac Ltd in May last year that it wanted to open up a new quarry when the one to the north of the village was exhausted, residents in Broom have formed a growing protest movement in an attempt to persuade the county council to throw out the plans.

Tarmac Ltd currently have a quarry covering over 300 acres to the north of the village which has been operating for over seven years and is due to close in 2010.