A CONTROVERSIAL plan to quarry sand and gravel at Wharmley near Fourstones has been withdrawn.

A spokesman for landowners Leazes Estate explained that a planning application had never been submitted and that the site had been included in the draft local plan to see if a scheme could be considered after they were approached by a company wishing to look into the possibility of quarrying on the site.

Residents had raised concerns about the potential impacts of a quarry on house prices and the local school, but Leazes Estate has now concluded that it do not wish to pursue the extraction.