A QUARRY will be allowed to operate until 2028, despite residents' opposition.

Dewars Farm Quarry, in Middleton Stoney, near Bicester, had initially been allowed to remain open until next year.

But its operator, Smith & Sons, said the recession in the late 2000s had slowed down the rate it mined limestone and clay and that it could run for longer than originally anticipated.

Parish councils said they were opposed to the extraction plan going on for longer.

Middleton Stoney Parish Council said residents were being afflicted by 'profound traffic concerns'.

It said any longer work at the site would ‘exacerbate concerns’. But the county council said it was unable to draw up any traffic routing plans, which the parish council had recommended.

Bucknell Parish Council said it objected to the project’s extension.

It said residents had suffered 'for years from all the disadvantages associated with having a quarry in its midst'.

It said it was 'unreasonable' for residents to expect to put up with it for longer.

Limestone extract at the quarry fell from 250,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 100,000 tpa between 2009 and 2013.

Production has returned to about 250,000 tpa again and the quarry could be exhausted within about 10 years.

The county council's planning committee gave the plan permission, with 11 councillors in favour and one opposed.