AN opencast firm which was refused permission for a new County Durham site may re-submit its application.

A delegation of RJB Mining workers yesterday took a 1,420-name petition to County Hall, Durham, protesting at county councillors' rejection of the firm's planning application for Southfield, Brusselton Lane, near Shildon.

Thirty men work at the firm's nearby Eldon Deep site and are hoping to transfer to Southfield when the existing working finishes.

They say the county planning committee's decision last week will leave them on the dole and will dash job hopes for 25 more men who would be taken on.

Darlington Borough Council's planning committee will be recommended today to approve the scheme, as the brownfield site is partially in its area.

Eldon Deep site manager Terry Hassell said: "We could go to appeal and I know we would win but it would cost the company £200,000 and take 18 months for a decision.

"If the answer at Darlington is yes, we will put the application in again. There are 30 members on that committee but only ten turned up for the meeting and four spoke against it. If the other 20 had been there, the decision could have been different. We have been stitched up.''

Eldon Deep worker Dennis Nichol said: "We can't understand why the job has been turned down, because it meets all the guidelines.

"We took our petition on the streets and got the support of the people of Shildon.

"We want to safeguard our jobs.''

Officers recommended the committee to approve the 28-month coal and fireclay extraction scheme, saying it was acceptable.

But councillors said people in Shildon were sick of open-casting, and the site would have a bad impact on the town and threaten regeneration.

Committee chairman John Alderson said the council's rules prevented the committee from changing its decision although it could consider a new application.

"There was no objection to the proposed working and restoration. It was the impact on the town and possible regeneration of the site that concerned members,'' he said.