RESIDENTS have banded together in a bid to block an application to turn Northwood Quarry on Sheppey into a toxic waste site.

A plan of action was drawn up after people packed Eastchurch Village Hall to voice their opposition to the planning application submitted to Kent County Council by the Waste Recycling Group.

The quarry and landfill site in Lower Road currently takes non-hazardous waste but if the application is successful, will start taking ash from the Allington incinerator near Maidstone.

At the public meeting, organiser John Gillespie said: "It is not just about signing petitions. We want people to get involved and ensure that Kent county councillors and local councillors know that we don't want this."

Sheppey county councillor Matt Wheatcroft told the gathering: "Some of you may remember the incinerator at Ridham Dock. That was one the ordinary local people won.

"Now this application has gone in and there's only one reason behind it - the amount of profit in getting rid of these dangerous materials that no-one else wants.

"A petition is useful but far more useful is individual letters and I would like us to end up with an action group."

Mike Brown (Lib Dem) said: "The only thing the planning committee will listen to is planning grounds because anything else they will say is irrelevant. I think we've got good planning grounds on the length of the site, what is in it and traffic."