RESIDENTS living near a Pickering quarry have spoken out against plans to allow blasting to continue.

Raymond and Marguerite Cook, of The Rookers, near the south-eastern corner of Newbridge Quarry, say blasts used to extract stone should be weaker than those recommended by North Yorkshire County Council because of damage allegedly caused to their home by the explosions.

"The house was repaired with a council grant," said Mrs Cook. "But I can not see any point when they keep blasting. It is already cracking up again, and they only finished the work on March 23."

Quarry owners RMC Aggregates (Northern) Ltd have applied to update the planning conditions allowing them to extract stone.

The company has permission to extract stone, but must review and update its conditions to bring them into line with modern guidelines.

A 'schedule of conditions' has been drawn up by council officers and recommended for approval.

Some 18 conditions have been put forward, including one stating that vehicles should not park overnight in the site entrance - another bone of contention with neighbours.

The conditions state that blasts of ten mm/sec vibration (a measurement of the blast size) should be permitted.

But Mr and Mrs Cook, who bought their home in 1977, believing quarrying would cease in 1979, feel the blasts should only be permitted at 2.5mm/sec vibration.

"If they okay this, I shall be thinking of suing the council," Mr Cook said.

Along with other nearby residents, the Cooks unsuccessfully sued RMC last year, claiming the explosions had damaged their homes.

The quarry firm has claimed that reducing blasts to the level suggested by the Cooks would affect the economic viability of the south-east corner of the quarry, which only has a short lifespan.

It has also said it would claim for compensation if reduced limits were put in place.

Stewart Vale, of RMC, said: "I would point out this is a review of our planning conditions. We have the right to work there any way. Just because we have a ten mm/sec limit does not mean we will blasting up to that level."

Mr Vale also said this level was within current planning guidance.

He declined to comment on the alleged damage to the Cooks' house.

A decision on whether to approve the conditions will be taken by North Yorkshire's environmental services planning sub-committee when it meets on Tuesday, June 6.

Coun Betsy Hill (Lib Dem), who represents Pickering on the county council, will not speak at the meeting because her home is adjacent to the quarry entrance.

A county council spokesman explained that Coun Hill had declared an interest in line with the relevant codes of conduct, but added: "I am sure she would have represented all views fairly."

Mike Easdale, Minerals Officer for North Yorkshire County Council said: "I think we have tried to be as fair as possible in addressing Mr and Mrs Cook's concerns and this is the very reason we took members of the committee to where they lived and to see the quarry. We leave it up to members, we have given them advice."