QUARRY campaigner Philip Edwards has won more time for people to comment on controversial quarry plans.

Mr Edwards is a member of Stop The Tip, a group set up by villagers to fight plans to carry out major restoration work and excavate a new area of sand at Town Farm Quarry in Norley.

The group says approval for the plans would result in thousands of tipper truck movements through Acton Bridge, Kingsley, Crowton and Weaverham.

Villagers who share its concerns have been asked to write to the Planning Inspectorate at Bristol, which is to rule on appeals by The Starkey Family Trust against the non-determination by Cheshire West and Chester Council of applications in relation to the quarry.

The deadline for comments was today, but residents, including Mr Edwards, were unable to email their views to the Planning Inspectorate at the weekend because the mailbox was full.

Mr Edwards succeeded in emailing his comments today, and after contacting the inspectorate gained a four-day extension for comments.

“I am pleased the deadline has been extended until this Friday, April 24, to give people who had problems over the weekend to email their views,” said Mr Edwards, from Crowton.

“It also gives us a few more days to contact people to ask if they can send representations.”

“Residents using the email address teamp2@pins.gsi.gov.uk had their representations refused because the mailbox was full, which was a significant obstacle to residents submitting their appeals.”

He said he had been told by the inspectorate it had received 7,000 email representations over the weekend.

Mr Edwards also contacted the inspectorate about its website showing what he said were incorrect deadlines for comments, and had been told the website would be updated with the new deadline.

For details on how to register your views email stopthetip@btinternet.com.

The applications which are the subject of the appeals seek to vary conditions of a planning approval to allow for the extraction of remaining permitted mineral reserves and to amend restoration levels accordingly, and to allow more time and the importation of material to complete the restoration of the site.