A LONGHOPE haulier has won his right to extract 25,000 tonnes of stone from Great Berry Quarry – but campaigners have vowed the battle goes on.

They have written to Minister of Planning Nick Raynsford asking him to call in the application with a view to holding a public inquiry.

Spokesman for the campaigners Kelvyn Horsman said it was an 'overwhelming' opinion in the group that the decision to reopen the quarry was an injustice in view of the scale of the opposition.

A statement issued by the group said holding an inquiry would "allow time for proper examination of all the facts and for a thorough examination of the environmental consequences of reopening the quarry."

County planners last week gave permission for Richard Read Transport Ltd to extract the stone in the face of strong opposition from a group of people living near the Brierley quarry and nature-lovers.

There were 500 objections when the matter came before Gloucestershire County Council's Development Control Committee, and the proposal was also opposed by the Forest of Dean District Council and Lydbrook Parish Council.

The protesters, who mounted a strong poster campaign and demonstrations against the plans, said they feared disruption of a peaceful haven for wildlife, increased heavy traffic and possible pollution risks.

However, Lydbrook county councillor Andrew Gardiner supported the reopening of the quarry in what was "a working forest, not a theme park".

He said he wanted to protect the rights of local miners to win limited amounts of stone for local purposes.

The planners granted permission with conditions on hours of working, pollution and environmental protection, landscaping, restoration and aftercare.

•Plans by Tarmac Quarry Products to increase aggregate extraction at Stowfield Quarry, Scowles Pitch, have been held up while the company provides records to help assess traffic impact. The company wanted the right to extract another 400,000 tones of limestone in addition to the 800,000 tones it already has permission to mine. Planners gave Tarmac until April 14 to produce weighbridge records.