VILLAGERS have been urged to grab a new opportunity to protest at plans to dump waste which they fear will be potentially dangerous in a Hartlebury quarry.

They fear if the plan goes ahead, the village will become "the dumping zone of the West Midlands".

Waste firm Biffa has applied to Worcestershire County Council for a two year extension on its planning permission to use the Whitlenge Lane quarry for landfill, which expired last month.

HALT - Hartlebury Against Landfill Toxins - was formed last year to fight an appeal by the firm against an Environment Agency decision not to grant a licence for the scheme.

But the battle never made it as far as a public Planning Inspectorate inquiry after Biffa withdrew the appeal at the last minute, deciding instead to hold talks with the agency over the conditions for dumping.

HALT, which had hired environmental consultant Alan Watson - who spoke at this year's inquiry over the proposed Kidderminster incinerator - was awarded costs from the hearing as a result.

"This, though, is only a small victory, if ever the landfill goes ahead," said co-ordinator Mark Massey.

He said if Biffa's planning permission was extended, the firm would apply for a licence to dump "special waste", which the group fears could include clinical waste, asbestos and other carcinogenic materials.

There are also fears groundwater could be contaminated while air pollution, toxic gases, effects on unborn children, smell and increased traffic have all been predicted.

Biffa has stressed the waste materials it can put into landfills are restricted by the law.

Mr Massey has urged anyone who has previously objected to the scheme to write again to the county council.

The council granted a one-year extension to planning permission a year ago but Biffa has not yet started infilling the quarry and needs a further renewal in order to apply for a licence.