Dame Judi Dench backs campaign against quarry

Dame Judi Dench has backed a campaign to stop a quarry which could be created on an area of farmland in Warwickshire.

The acting legend has recorded a video supporting a local group aiming to stop the development, planned for Wasperton Farm near Barford.

Smiths Concrete has applied to Warwickshire County Council for permission to extract sand and gravel from the 220-acre (90-ha) site next to the A429.

Its managing director, Ray Chambers, said he believed the company had put together a "comprehensive" plan for the project.

In a short video, Dame Judi, who used to live in neighbouring Charlecote, said that she hoped the development would not go ahead.

“As someone who spent many, many very happy years in this part of the country, it distresses me terribly to think that this landscape, which I know and I love so much, may be destroyed," she said.

Malcolm Eykyn, who helps run the Stop the Quarry campaign said the group had concerns over flooding, traffic problems and the potential health implications of the development.

"If this does go ahead it'll impact our communities that live close by, and our closest community is 350 yards away," he said.

"We think having Dame Judi Dench on board is a very good way of being able to draw this to the public's attention.

"We think she has a good feeling for this area because she used to live here."

In the application, Smiths Concrete said it wanted to release approximately two million tonnes of sand and gravel suitable for construction use over a period of up to 15 years.

Mr Chambers said the quarry was needed to help make concrete, which is needed to meet the country's housing needs over the next decade.

"The site had been identified in the county council's mineral plan that was published about two years ago," he said.

"There is very clean material at the site, which is close to a main road and it is actually quite some distance away from housing.

"We've gone to great lengths to communicate our plans with the local people."

The company is currently in the process of responding to a number of questions from the council, before another three-week consultation period takes place.

Councillors will then decide whether to approve or reject the plans.

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