A PUBLIC meeting has been called over proposals for a new quarry.

Residents in Kirkby Fleetham, near Northallerton, say the quarry, proposed by Tarmac, would cause dust to blow through the village and affect property prices.

But Tarmac says any materials extracted from the area would be wet and no dust would be generated.

The proposal by Tarmac is one of a number of submissions to North Yorkshire County Council by various firms.

The authority is drawing up a new minerals and waste development framework - a 15-year blueprint for quarrying and waste disposal.

Kirkby Fleetham resident, Mike Hughes said: "We are going to have 20-tonne lorries coming into the area and the roads already have problems with potholes and the surface breaking up. We are concerned that property prices could be affected.

"This is a rather flat area and there is nothing to stop the wind blowing all the dust straight into the village on the prevailing wind."

In 1995, land near Kirkby Fleetham was earmarked by the county council as being suitable for sand and gravel extraction. But villagers opposed the draft plans and sent a 60-name petition to the authority. The plans were then redrawn and the size of the site reduced.

Mr Hughes added: "We were very surprised to see these plans given that they were redrawn ten years ago."

A spokeswoman for Tarmac said the proposals were a follow-up from Scorton Quarry.

She said: "The prospective site is open farmland away from the main local residential areas, and we can confirm that no quarry vehicles are proposed to pass through Kirkby Fleetham because they will be able to travel directly to the A1 without passing through the village.

"We have also confirmed that the materials will be wet when extracted and together with use of modern methods of handling and transport we are confident dust will not be a problem."

She added that a biodiversity plan, including landscaping and planting, is being prepared for discussion.

The meeting will take place at 6.30pm, today, in Kirkby Fleetham Village Hall. It will be attended by Tarmac estates manager Michael Young and Chris Jarvis, senior minerals and waste policy officer for the county council