A farm owner whose land has been earmarked as the potential site for a huge quarrying operation has vowed to never let it happen.
And Donald Holdsworth says he was not even consulted about the new proposals.
Mr Holdsworth, 77, owns 70 Acre Farm, on the edge of Honley, where three sites have been identified in the Kirklees Local Plan as having potential for quarrying.
But Mr Holdsworth, who is wheelchair-bound, says he has no intention of selling the land, and says Kirklees Council has never spoken to him about it.
Without his knowledge, three sites on his land, covering some 76 acres in total, were put forward as proposed sites for mineral extraction by the quarrying company Johnson Wellfield Quarries, which carried out tests at Mr Holdsworth’s farm about ten years ago.
Mr Holdsworth said: “Johnson Wellfield Quarries came about ten years ago, and asked if they could drill the fields to have a look and see what was there.
“I said ok, and they found some good quality stone. I went to a meeting with them to talk about selling but it was a complete waste of time.
“If the price had been right I would have sold it all, gone over to Lincolnshire and bought a farm there.
“But the price wasn’t right, nowhere near. And it all got kicked into touch.”
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Five years ago, Mr Holdsworth began having problems with his knee, and he is now in a wheelchair, and has no intention of leaving.
“There is some good quality stone here, but I have no interest at all in selling. I was born here and it looks as though I will die here.
“If quarrying happened here there would be uproar in the village. People nearby have paid a lot of money for their properties and they would be up in arms.”
The Local Plan sets development policies and sites for the next 15 years, and has earmarked areas of land for housing and development.
Click below for pictures of land marked for development
A public consultation, which allows people to object, finishes in late December.
Council officers say a number of checks would be needed at the sites if planning permission was ever sought for quarrying, including a noise and air quality impact assessment.
For one of the sites, a minimum 20 metre buffer zone would be needed to protect Honley Wood.
A spokeswoman for Johnson Wellfield Quarries declined to comment.
A spokesman for Kirklees Council said: “As part of the council’s call for sites for the draft Local Plan, a submission was made by Johnson Wellfield Quarries in relation to the 70 Acre Farm site for proposed mineral extraction.
“Their submission confirms they have discussed the option to promote a mineral extraction site with the landowner.
“At this stage, this is all that is required for the consultation period, but there would need to be further discussions if the site was to be brought forward for this purpose in the plan.”
