THE owners of a quarry have been given an extra decade to work and restore the site – despite objections from the local parish council.

The decision means that Hallas Rough Quarry in Cullingworth, more commonly known as The Flappit, will now not be fully restored until 2038.

The quarry has been a major source of building materials for the area in the past, but for the last 11 years there has been little quarrying done on the site, and for a time it was more regularly used for off-road biking.

The existing planning permission for the site included a condition that all work was completed and the area restored by 2028.

The quarry has changed hands in recent years, and earlier this year two new applications, by Flappit Tipping and Recycling, were submitted to Bradford Council.

One sought permission to extract the last remaining stone from the site. The other was to change the planning conditions, allowing the company to push back the full restoration of the land until 2038.

Both applications have now been approved, despite Cullingworth Parish Council describing an extra 17 years of work at the site as “unacceptable”.

Restoration is likely to require around two million tonnes of “construction and demolition” waste being brought onto the land.

The company’s application said this waste would be brought by HGVs, with an average of 38 vehicles coming into and out of the site each day. There would be a maximum of 55 per day.

A statement from the parish council said: “If this extension was successful there could be over 100 lorry movements per day for many years to come. Mud, dirt or debris will be carried onto the highway over the years the quarry is in operation.

“Cullingworth Village Council feels this extension application should be refused as the timeframe of 17 years is unacceptable, and would inevitably give rise to an unacceptable, adverse impact on people and the environment.”

Planning officers at Bradford Council pointed out that the stone from the quarry was important in repairs of heritage buildings as well as new builds.

Addressing the concerns of the parish council, officers said that if the application was refused and the 2028 restoration timetable kept, the same amount of material would still need to be brought to the site – only in a seven-year period rather than the 17-year period sought by the applicants.

They said: “There would need to be a significant increase in HGV movements to achieve restoration in the remaining timeframe, which Highways are highly unlikely to support. Additionally, the applicant would have to source suitable material in a very short timescale, which is unlikely to be feasible and/or viable.”

The applications were approved.