PLANS to re-open a quarry near Silsden have been withdrawn by the developer.

Horn Crag Quarry is a 5.9 hectare site that was last worked in the 1980s.

Earlier this year, an application for the site was submitted to Bradford Council by A. D. Calvert Architectural Stone Supplies.

It revealed plans to re-open the quarry "for the purpose of releasing a proven, locally distinctive building stone resource."

500,000 tonnes of stone could be quarried from the site over the next two decades if the plans were approved – the application claimed.

If approved, the plans would see the quarry fully worked by February 2042.

The site would then be restored to an "upland heathland environment" by the company.

But this week the application has been withdrawn.

No reason has been given, but the application had proved controversial – with over 570 people objecting to the scheme.

Silsden Town Council had said it “strongly objected” to the plans for sever-al reasons, including the number of HGVs that will use the site.

The Council’s Environmental Health team had also said it could not support the plans, saying the work could cause noise nuisance to residents at the nearby Cringles caravan park.