CAMPAIGNERS were last night left “bitterly disappointed” after controversial plans to fill in a quarry near Oxford were given the go-ahead.

Oxfordshire County Council yesterday passed plans to fill Woodeaton Quarry with construction waste over the next 10 years .

Residents and local councillors had battled the proposals over concerns about traffic, noise, dust and the effect on local crops.

Concerns were also raised about the impact on children at the nearby Woodeaton Manor School, which caters for youngsters with autism.

Last night headteacher Anne Pearce said: “At the moment there seems to be little regard for the needs of our children and I’m bitterly disappointed.

“Woodeaton is a place of peace and tranquility and now this will change.

“It’s a real worry. For children with mental health issues, environmental issues are paramount to reducing their anxiety.”

Addressing the meeting, local councillor Anne Purse said staff feared the extra noise could draw some of the 52 children to the quarry, which she said most were currently unaware of.

Wheatley-based McKenna Plant Hire will restore the quarry using material which cannot be recycled.

Some 520,000 tonnes of rubble will be dumped at the site over 10 years.

Yesterday’s planning and regulation committee at County Hall, heard the plan would create about 20 extra vehicle movements a day. Lorries would travel along Bayswater Road in Barton, past Oxford Crematorium, and along the B4027 to reach Woodeaton.

Woodeaton parish councillor Phil Garratt said: “We all are disappointed that they did not give adequate consideration to the school’s objections.”

City councillor for Barton Van Coulter said: “Bayswater Road and the Green Road roundabout are so problematic they have had academic texts written about them.

“Residents do not want to see the intensification of traffic this will bring to their estate.”

The 16-acre quarry, which dates back to the 1940s, has not been worked since the early 2000s.

McKenna, which owns the site, says its plans will protect and improve access to the limestone cliff face, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) after yielding some rare dinosaur fossils.

Representative Suzi Coyne said: “The quarry as it is at the moment is unsafe.

“This will mean it will be filled in within 10 years.

“It will be done and a scar on the landscape will be gone.”