A QUARRY could be dug in Kirklees to excavate 975,000 tonnes of sand and gravel.

Ravensthorpe firm Newlay Concrete Limited is to apply for planning permission to build a quarry on fields it is leasing off Forge Lane in Thornhill Lees.

The firm will spend eight years at the site providing sand and gravel to local businesses to make concrete.

Afterwards, the company has pledged to turn the land into lakes – one for fishing and one as a conservation area.

If the plan is passed, work would start in April, 2013, with the quarry operational from 7am to 6pm on weekdays and 7am to 1pm on Saturdays.