Campaigners have claimed a victory after Bradford Council threw out plans to turn a former quarry into a dump for millions of tonnes of rubbish. Villagers in Denholme have spent more than a decade locked in a legal battle with quarrying company P Casey Enviro Ltd to prevent them from turning Buck Park into a landfill site.

Now councillors have confirmed officers have turned down an application to dump 2.5million tonnes of Bradford’s household waste at the site.

Sharon Makinson, of Denholme Residents Action Group (DRAG) said the group was delighted with the result.

She said: “A lot of the reasons why Bradford Council turned it down are the reasons we submitted in our objection.

“So it’s vindicated the fact that what we thought was wrong with the application has actually been agreed and accepted by the Council.”

Denholme resident Brian Church, a spokesman for DRAG, has previously said the group would fight any proposals to turn the former quarry into landfill. He spearheaded the first campaign against proposals in 1999. The battle against previous planning applications has cost DRAG more than £100,000, incurred huge costs to Bradford Council and was eventually dismissed by a High Court judge in 2006.

But the new proposals triggered a fresh wave of controversy when they were submitted in September this year.

Councillor Mike Ellis (Con, Bingley Rural), said the plans have been refused again because P Casey could not prove Bradford needed a new landfill site. At present, the district’s household waste is taken to landfill sites in Skipton and Normanton. Coun Ellis said “I think there will be much rejoicing in Denholme.”

A spokesman for P Casey said the company was looking at the decision and had not decided whether to appeal.