PLANS have been unveiled to extract millions of tonnes of limestone from a former quarry near ecologically important sites.

Owen Pugh Aggregates has applied to Durham County Council for permission to remove 2.7m cubic metres - or 5m tonnes - of the mineral from a 25-hectare site at Tuthill Quarry, near Haswell, east Durham.

The proposals include bringing in 1.6m cubic meters of clay and soil for the restoration of the site, in an operation that could last for about 20 years.

The company plans to construct a new access road to the south of the quarry, onto the B1283 Durham Lane. It says the plans offer the chance to protect and enhance the Tuthill Quarry Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Local Wildlife Site (LWS).

John Dickson chairman of the Owen Pugh group and Owen Pugh Aggregates, said: “We have been running Marsden Quarry near Whitburn, between Sunderland and South Shields, since 2000.

“Marsden Quarry is approaching the end of its extracting life, with not much more limestone left in it to bring out, and so we have been looking at developing alternative opportunities. This is one we are very keen on.”

He added: “Tuthill Quarry is an old quarry and has been disused for many years a lot of horrible colliery waste on it, which was tipped in it by the coal board in the 70s and 80s.

“It is like a moonscape. There are also problems with invasive cotoneaster whih which has run rampant and which we need to get rid of.

“The plan is to extract 2.8m cubic metres of limestone and magnesium limestone, which will be used in the construction industry and the agricultural industry.

“We would also import about 1.6m cubic metres of inert material, such as clays and soils, which we will use along with existing colliery waste to create a restoration profile for quarry. Instead of being left as a blot on the landscape, it will be left to appear like a country park.”

Mr Dickson said the principal for mineral extraction on the site was established, but the operator is obliged to submit working details on how the site will be worked.

The company hopes to begin work in 2018. It would take about 18 years to remove the limestone with the infill completed a few years later.

Haswell Parish Council chairman Alan Liversidge said: “We know about the application and have invited representatives of Owen Pugh to our parish council meeting at Hazelwell Centre at 6.30pm on Tuesday February 28, to establish more information about the proposals.”