Tomorrow, councillors will vote on plans to extend a quarry near a historic site dubbed the Stonehenge of the North. Joe Willis examines the war of words that has surrounded the application.

IN 3,000BC Neolithic man built three large stone circular monuments at a site in the region.

But three years ago, a bitter row broke out after Tarmac Northern submitted a planning application to extend Nosterfield Quarry, near Masham, North Yorkshire, to within one kilometre of the ancient site, known as Thornborough Henges.

The application to North Yorkshire County Council sparked often bitter sparring between campaigners and quarry bosses.

Pressure group TimeWatch, formed to fight the plans, said it would damage a "jewel of world heritage".

In response, Tarmac has accused protestors of misleading the public and has pointed out that gravel from Nosterfield has been used to build hospitals.

A petition containing 10,000 objectors' signatures was countered with a petition from quarry staff, fearful for their jobs.

Protestors say the site is at the centre of a 20-mile corridor of ancient structures stretching from Catterick to Boroughbridge.

They say it is not just the henges which are under threat, claiming further quarrying would threaten other nearby features of interest to archaeologists. These include ancient burial sites and settlements.

Leading archaeologists, although not openly condemning Tarmac, have also talked of the henges' importance.

David Miles, chief archaeologist with English Heritage, is quoted as saying: "The Thornborough Henges complex is the most important prehistoric site between Stonehenge and the Orkneys."

Summing up campaigners' objections, George Chaplin, chairman of TimeWatch, said: "Thornborough Henges and its buried archaeology are gems of ancient cultural heritage with all the potential to give local people and visitors alike a superb experience.

"It is time to stop the quarrying right now, so that Thornborough's future can be determined without the threat of imminent loss to a vital part of our nation's history."

In response, Tarmac has repeatedly denied the quarry extension at Ladybridge Farm - which would involve the extraction of 2.2 million tonnes of sand and gravel over four years - would damage the henges.

Yesterday, despite council officers recommending the extension should be rejected, Tarmac company estates manager Bob Nicholson reiterated that he thought the application was reasonable.

Mr Nicholson said that far from destroying archaeology, Tarmac had been responsible for discovering, recording and preserving it.

The company says it has spent £400,000 on archaeological work covering more than 100 acres at the site.

"This has included intensive field work, geophysical surveys, trial excavations, sieving and sampling, palaeoenvironmental analysis, radio carbon dating and logging of all finds," said Mr Nicholson.

Councillors will meet at Masham town hall at 1pm tomorrow to vote on the application.The public are welcome to attend.