PLANS to install a concrete crusher at a quarry must be stopped, according to three councils.

Bromley, Swanley Town, and Sevenoaks District Councils have joined forces to stop the concrete crusher (used recycle waste) being moved to the Bourne Wood, Sand and Gravel Ltd site.

The firm has been extracting sand since January 2000 from the site in Bromley, just off the A20, and from the outskirts of Swanley where there have been complaints of dust.

Bromley Council refused the company's application to install a concrete crusher to recycle waste in January 2001 and the company has appealed, sparking a public inquiry involving all three councils.

Swanley Council's planning committee's Mark Fittock, said the application could affect people's quality of life.

Complaining of dust in his neighbourhood, he said: “The diggers and the bulldozers provide enough noise already. The roundabout nearby often jams up so additional lorries would not be a good idea. With the entrance on the A20, the extra lorries would mean an accident waiting to happen.”

Sevenoaks District Council's Planning Assistant Alison Salter is concerned about noise adding: “We are concerned the crusher will affect on air quality.”

But Bourne Wood, Sand and Gravel Ltd's Cliff Thurlow told the News Shopper concerns were unnecessary because the recycling plant would be up to 15 metres below ground at the bottom of the quarry.

Acknowledging an increase in traffic, he said the A20 could cope with the extra influx.

“Dust would not be a problem because we would be using machinery manufactured to suppress dust.”

A final decision on the crusher will be made on November 1. Residents can send comments to Ms M Geary, London Borough of Bromley, Environmental Services Department, Civic Centre, Stockwell Close, Bromley, BR1 3UH.