AN ancient limestone quarry has been given a lifeline after councillors turned down a plea by a local resident to visit her home to see the impact it was having.

Dr Sue Hewitt told members of Denbighshire County Council’s planning committee that Graig Quarry that she and other residents of the Penygraig estate were all affected by noise, dust and blasting at the quarry .

“Our houses are already damaged by cracking and this is only going to get worse,” she said.

Dr Hewitt  claimed that pictured fell off the walls because of the vibration and the noise of the blasting was equivalent to a chainsaw one metre away.

She was opposing an application by quarry owners  Breedon Southern Ltd to extend the time granted in 2010 for a possible extension to the working area.  The current  consent runs out next month and the company wants it to remain until 2028.

Cllr Gwyneth Kensler said circumstances had changed since the extension to the operating area was granted in 1992, with greater awareness of the risks to health from dust and other pollutants, and she had been shocked to learn from local GPs how many local people suffered from asthma.

She also argued that many  houses had been built close to the quarry in that time.

“I had no idea that residents had been so affected,” she said.

But the council’s minerals officer Hannah Parish told the meeting there was no evidence that vibrations were caused by the blasting and that noise and  dust levels were monitored.

The company has agreed to carry out blasting no more than 12 times a year. It currently extracts about 200,000 tonnes of limestone a year and that is not expected to change.

The application for the eight-year extension was granted by 12 votes to one.