THERE is less than one week left for residents to have their say on plans for a massive quarry near Upton.

Worcestershire County Council is consulting on plans for the Bow Farm quarry at Ripple.

If the plans go ahead, more than 1.5 million tons of gravel will be pulled out of the ground.

Residents now have until October 26 to have their say on the plans.

There have been a number of consultations with no decision being made by the council on the plans.

This, they say, is because of the applicants updating the relevant information to the plans, requiring further consultations each time.

The application was originally put in back in 2019, with further consultations in 2020 and 2021.

According to the application, the land will be restored to wetlands, nature conservation and agriculture once work is finished.

The application site comprises approximately 65 hectares of land at Bow Farm in Bow Lane.

The site straddles the administrative boundaries of Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.

Approximately 55 hectares of land lies within Worcestershire with the remaining 10 located within Gloucestershire.

Approximately 45 hectares of the land is proposed for mineral extraction, worked in a number of phases and progressively restored.

All of the land is owned by the applicant and is bound to the north by the M50 and to the east by Bow Lane.

Residents of nearby Ripple have voiced their opposition to the plans, saying the noise and traffic caused by work vehicles, as well as the dust created by the work, will affect their quality of life.

Ripple Parish Council also recommended refusal of the plans, with their submission to the county council saying: “RPC recognise the importance of maintaining mineral supplies but this should be from sites where proposals do so in the most environmentally and sympathetic manner and which, in this case scenario, both mitigate and decrease the risk of flooding.

“Proposals should not adversely affect the health and welfare of local residents, business, and recreational facilities, and fully comply with Planning Statements.”