MOTORISTS look less likely to face delays on the A420 after council officers recommended plans to reduce part of the road to a single carriageway be thrown out.

Hanson Aggregate sparked uproar when it emerged its proposals to extract sand from a quarry in Longworth included cutting a two-lane section of the A420 to one lane for half a mile to improve safety at the entrance to the site, off Pine Woods Lane.

The company is also seeking permission to reduce the speed limit from 70mph to 50mph in both directions through the area, which would affect about 18,000 motorists a day.

However, officers at Oxfordshire County Council are objecting to the plans. In a report, they said the site was not suitable for a new quarry, because the need for soft sand can already be met by sites allocated by the council, and the extraction could damage produce grown at a nearby farm.

Members of the campaign group Land not Sand have cautiously welcomed the officers’ recommendation.

Group chairman Alan Boyce, who is also chairman of Longworth Parish Council, said: “Broadly it’s good news, however we’re disappointed the officers have not taken on board our major concerns.

“The worry is the reasons they have cited for the recommendation are not strong, but we’re still hopeful and will see it through to the end.”

Land not Sand member Prof Adam Ogilvie-Smith added: “About 90 per cent of decisions go along the lines of the officers’ recommendation, so this is good news.

“If Hanson still decides to go to the committee I will argue it’s not balanced to hold up 18,000 motorists a day for one company.”

Hanson wants to extract 1.1 million tonnes of sand from the site over 10 years.

The lane closure on the A420 would be for drivers travelling west up until the Pine Woods Lane junction.

Hanson spokesman David Weeks said: “We now have two choices – either let it go to committee or withdraw the application, deal with the officers’ concerns and resubmit within 12 months. We will make a decision in the next few days.

“The officers’ recommendations are tenuous and if they don’t give the go-ahead it will be the council which suffers, via fines from the Government for not providing enough mineral extraction.”

The application is due to be debated by the county council’s planning and regulation committee on Monday.