A GOVERNMENT inspector has asked a council to 'amend' its plans to build a quarry on previously untouched land.

Residents of Barford, near Warwick, have been protesting about the plan to open a large sand and gravel quarry for five years.

The land is owned by Oxford University's wealthiest college, St John's.

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The college, which has assets worth over £650 million, has requested that Warwickshire County Council include the site in its minerals land allocation plan, which will allow vast quantities of sand and gravel to be extracted from the site.

Those protesting say that the building of the quarry will 'permanently destroy the existing high-quality agricultural land'.

After a two-day inspection hearing which heard both sides of the debate for and against building the quarry, the Government Inspector has urged Warwick County Council to 'reconsider and amend areas of the plan'.

The plan will potentially need 'major changes' and so the Inspector has demanded those changes are approved by him before the revised plan goes out to a six-week public consultation.

Read more here: Last chance for Barford Residents to stop quarry threat

The Inspector was 'particularly critical of the reasons why the council had chosen some of the new sites without giving due consideration to 'community concerns' and the overall local 'need'.

After the public consultation, the inspector will make his final decision.

Malcolm Eykyn and Andrew Steel, both committee members of the campaign said; "We have worked tirelessly for the last 5 years raising awareness about the proposed quarry threat as well as raising substantial funds to help fight our cause. "We felt the Inspector listened to our concerns and we feel we have more chance of succeeding now than when the campaign started four years ago."