A life-long Shropshire resident today spoke of his sadness at plans to expand a quarry saying he has been given “three minutes to save 10 million years of history” when he speaks at a planning meeting tomorrow.

Alan Coles, 69, who lives in Shrewsbury, said that he has many fond memories of Haughmond Quarry, from going there as a child to taking his own son there and spending many summers at the site.

He is concerned after Aggregate Industries UK Limited unveiled plans which could see the quarry expanded by about nine acres.

The firm wants to expand the quarry near Shrewsbury to help it to extract nearly three million tonnes more of a skid resistant stone used in road surfacing.

But Mr Coles said that when the quarry was originally granted permission to expand in 1976 there had been a huge public outcry with hundreds of people signing a petition against the plans.

He said he thought the plans had met less resistance this time around because they had been advertised through the winter on a sign on a gate at the quarry, which he says not many people would have passed in the colder months.

Mr Coles will be speaking at a Shropshire Council meeting at Shirehall tomorrow when the plans are expected to be approved subject to a number of conditions and a legal agreement.

Mr Coles said: “I’m born and bred in Shrewsbury and have lived here all my life.

“In Shropshire we say ‘if you’ve got something good you keep it’. I don’t know if it’ll do much good to speak out but I’ve got to try.

“The quarry is a place for quiet enjoyment but you can’t get that anymore.”

The expansion would also take the quarrying further into woodland and extend its life by almost eight years. A spokesman from Aggregate Industries said the company was committed to a biodiversity management plan and restoration scheme over areas within its ownership.

He said: “Should permission be forthcoming the restoration will also be monitored via a special steering group set up by the company involving representatives of Natural England, the Shropshire Wildlife Trust and the Forestry Commission meeting regularly.”

By Emma Kasprzak