Villagers are hoping to fight plans to build a 35.2-hectare quarry at a farm on the outskirts of Witham over concerns that their quality of life will suffer.

Landowner Simon Brice has submitted a planning application to Essex County Council to extract 2.5million tonnes of sand and gravel at the site at Colemans Farm in Little Braxted Lane, Little Braxted.

The application comes just weeks after after the county council finalised their replacement minerals local plan, which will see the majority of the county’s gravel extraction concentrated around the Braintree district until 2029.

See this week's Braintree and Witham Times for the full story.