A proposed million-tonne quarry on a former airfield would destroy wildlife, it has been claimed.

Permission was given for 750,000 tonnes of sand and gravel to be extracted from Rivenhall Airfield off Sheepcotes Lane in 2009, but only as a by-product of the construction of a waste-processing plant.

Residents and local councillors opposed the plan two years ago, and Green Party councillor for Bradwell, James Abbott, is worried the new proposal will have a negative impact on the wildlife on the airfield.

When the go-ahead was given for an Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF), no extraction was permitted to take place until building work had started, but no work has yet begun.

An Essex County Council spokesman said it was too early to say if the previous conditions that had been agreed would apply to the new application.