Campaigners have lambasted Somerset Council’s “crazy” decision to reopen a “mega-quarry” near Frome.

Hanson UK (now Heidelberg Materials) put forward four sets of plans back in 2021 to reopen Westdown Quarry, which lies just off the A361 between Frome and Shepton Mallet.

Each of the four applications identified different parcels of land which could either be quarried or used for storing soil and other waste materials – one of which was the ‘quarry void’ near the locally cherished Asham Wood.

Local campaigners and Green Party councillors had cause for celebration in May after the company withdrew plans to redevelop the Asham Wood section of the site.

But this celebration has turned to dismay after Somerset Council’s strategic planning committee voted to approve the other three applications by a comfortable margin.

Simon Clarke, from the Somerset Wildlife Trust, was among the objectors who addressed the committee when it met in Shepton Mallet on Thursday afternoon (June 6).

He said: “At a time of climate and ecological emergency, key policy considerations such as climate change and biodiversity net gain must be taken into account.”

Since the Somerset Minerals Plan was last reviewed, two additional quarries have opened in the county – meaning many of the plan’s assumptions about demand and extraction levels may be out of date.

Part of the proposal includes the excavation of 168 acres of “wildlife rich landscape” in and around Westdown Farm, to the north of the A361.

More than 1,100 people had sent letters to the council objection to the proposals in advance of the hearing, citing a range of factors.

Helen Kenny, of Wanstrow, said: “The roads in the area are not designed to handle the volume and weight of quarry-related traffic, posing serious safety risks to residents and commuters.

“The recent fatal road accident on May 30 on the A361 Marston Road involving a lorry is an example of the potential issues regarding heavy goods traffic.”

Michael Oatley, who lives in Nunney, said reopening the quarry could have “concerning” implications for the entire Mendip Hills water table.

The committee voted by eight votes to three to approve each of the applications to reopen the quarry site after around two hours’ debate.

Reacting to the news, campaigner Indra Francesco said: “We are devastated. A beautiful place and irreplaceable ecology is about to vanish off the face of the Earth as a result of this decision.”

“The increase in traffic on our roads will risk more deaths.”

Chris Maunder added: “The council must be crazy to allow a developer to rip up farmland and destroy the habitat of rare and protected species for a project that, by its very nature, flies in the face of our need to protect our environment and reduce carbon emissions.

“It also runs contrary to the council’s own declaration of a climate and ecological emergency and will increase the carbon footprint of Somerset quite considerably, through more blasting and an increase in traffic as well as other material removal and processing techniques.