THE battle against plans for a new quarry in Wall Heath is finally over after an appeal deadline passed.

A proposal for a new site near Dudley Kingswinford Rugby Club was thrown out by Staffordshire County Council in June last year but doubt lingered about a possible appeal to the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol.

The deadline for an appeal has now passed and a new application with significant differences to the previous plan would be required to mine on the site at Mile Flat.

Anti-quarry campaign leader, cllr Dave Tyler, of the Quarries Fighting Fund, said: “Our community has fought long and hard against these proposals and to see the deadline date pass without an appeal from F G Davis & Sons has come as a relief to our residents.

"We never expected an attempt would be made to appeal as our case was based on strong evidence and professional advice.

"We can now concentrate on the other quarry site in Enville Road which is due to close on April 30 2015 and we intend to monitor that site and the actions of Staffordshire County Council to make sure there are no further extensions.”

And he warned residents living nearby to brace themselves for increased disruption as land-filling of the Enville Road site continues, adding: “The noise, dust and vibrations are going to be greater between now and April 2015 as workings will be closer and closer to the entrance”.

No-one from FG Davis was available for comment.