A VILLAGER who took her fight to save a fossil-rich quarry from development to the High Court has said she had 'an exciting two days'.

Anna Hoare also praised Judge John Howell for his 'incisive questions' in a complex case which she said would have 'far-reaching effects' for the planning system.

She also thanked supporters who donated £14,825 to help pay her legal costs.

Ms Hoare, who lives in Little Coxwell just outside Faringdon, is fighting proposals to turn Wicklesham Quarry in her village into a business park.

Described by Natural England as 'one of Britain's richest palaeontological localities', the 31-acre bed is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The business park is being proposed by quarry owner Tom Allen-Stevens, but Ms Hoare's case is actually against planning authority Vale of White Horse District Council.

That is because the council, which previously recommended using a different part of Faringdon to create new jobs its own Local Plan for development, nevertheless adopted a Faringdon Neighbourhood Plan drawn up by residents which recommends the business park plan.

At London's Royal Courts of Justice on June 14 and 15, Ms Hoare's barrister Dr Pavlos Eleftheriadis put forward her argument that the neighbourhood plan contradicted the Vale's own Local Plan, and the Vale was therefore wrong to adopt it.

The Vale, represented by QC Suzanne Ornsby, a senior counsel specialising in planning, local government and environmental law, argued that all the correct procedures were followed.

Speaking after the hearing Ms Hoare said: "Wicklesham Quarry raises important, untested questions, and the judgment will have far-reaching effects.

"Judge Howell asked incisive questions throughout of both counsels, and clearly warmed to the complexity and interest of his task as the case went on.

"It was an exciting two days. We now wait to called back to court for the judge's verdict."

Ms Hoare also paid 'a very special tribute' to her legal team for their 'enormous amount of hard work and commitment' over the past year, even in the knowledge that whatever money she raised from supporters was unlikely to meet their fees in the event she lost her case.

She described their work as showing 'a rare level of generosity and commitment to supporting access to justice' and added: "To say that the world needs more lawyers like Pavlos Eleftheriadis and [solicitor] Linda Felton, who place social responsibility and an absolute commitment to social and environmental justice at the forefront of their legal practise, can only be an understatement. I can never thank them enough."

The judge is expected to deliver his verdict in the coming weeks.