WORRIED residents have met to discuss a plan for sand and gravel quarrying in a village.

People living in a raft of Worcestershire villages got together after concerns were raised about huge lorries travelling through their villages to reach the quarry site in Charlton. County and district councillors were at the meeting of parish councils from Cropthorne, Charlton, Wick and Fladbury to discuss the quarry plan, part of the emerging minerals plan for Worcestershire.

Ian Southcott, chairman of Fladbury Parish Council said: “Our main concern is the transport to access the site.

Young woman helped man down from Worcester Bridge

Lorries of up to 44 tonnes will be coming to the villages to get to the A44. If we have to deal with that coming 5/2 days a week it will be very disruptive. There is also the potential for noise and dust from those operations. We are also concerned that the mineral company may jump the gun before the minerals plan is entered which may not be for another 18 months.”

Worcestershire County Council’s emerging minerals plan identified areas in the Vale of Evesham as potential spots for gravel extraction. The Charlton site was identified and this will go to a formal 'examination in public' early this summer. The plan will guide how much and what minerals the council needs to be able to supply, where minerals should be extracted, how sites should be worked and how they should be “restored” when working has finished.

Councillor Ken Pollock, cabinet member with responsibility for economy and infrastructure at Worcestershire County Council said: “Mineral extraction in Worcestershire is important to be able to provide materials for building. This consultation will feed into our mineral site allocations development plan document, which points to preferred areas in the county where quarries will be developed and minerals will be extracted.”