A NEW sand and gravel quarry is to be excavated at an historic county beauty spot.

The decision on Tuesday by councillors to agree to the construction of a quarry at Skateraw Farm, near Dunbar, was met with anger by residents who claim the noise, dust and pollution will affect their quality of life, personal safety and their property prices.

But, following considerable debate, the local authority's planning committee decided, by nine votes to two, to grant permission to applicant Collier Quarrying and Recycling Ltd for the proposed quarry to go ahead.

The five-hectare quarry site consists mainly of farmland and is situated immediately to the north-east of the restored land which used to house a previous sand quarry that closed two years ago.

The site is also located near to residential properties and the area's new art gallery.

The committee heard that extraction of sand and gravel from the new quarry would be completed within six years, with the restoration work taking a further 18 months. The proposal involves the extraction of 70,000 tonnes of sand and gravel per year over the six year period.

Currently, Longyester Quarry, near Gifford, is the only site in East Lothian permitted for sand and gravel retrieval.

Planning officer Brian Stalker told the committee: "The criteria requires the council to consider environmental matters such as noise, dust, vibration, blasting, visual intrusion, landscape impact, pollution of watercourses and traffic.

With regard to vibration, there will none of any consequence because there is no blasting as part of the operation.

"As regard to noise, the area is identified as not being an exceptionally quiet, rural area. " The council's senior environmental and consumer services manager was satisfied that traffic generated by the development "would not adversely impact on the amenity of the area".

But, homeowners close to the proposed site, 15 of whom lodged written objections to the local authority, voiced their concerns.

Local ward member Paul McLennan (SNP) backed them.

He said: "For me, the real issue concerns the impact to the area, and the noise implications. I don't believe the application meets the criterion needed. I don't believe there are any demonstrable or significant benefits to the local residents." And fellow Dunbar and East Linton councillor Jacquie Bell (Lib Dem) added: "I do not feel able to support this application. I do have concerns that disturbance will be a problem. Whenever you do have extraction going on you will have noise, dust, lorries moving around.

"I feel this is an application where the risk of the disturbance and damage to the community, even though it will be short term, outweigh any benefits to the residents." Cllrs McLennan and Bell voted against the proposals, however, the third local member, Councillor Norman Hampshire, supported the scheme.

He said: "To remove sand and gravel it is obvious there will be some disruption, but this proposal has enough controls in place to enforce the regulations.

"The restoration of the site is very important and I've got every confidence the landowner will do this in the best possible way." Representing the public objectors, Lesley Lyons, of Skateraw Cottages, said she and her neighbours were "glad to see the back of the previous quarry", and that there were enough air and visual polluters already in the immediate vicinity, including Torness Power Station, Lafarge Cement works and wind farm installations.

She said: "We all put up with it (the previous quarry) at the time because we knew it was a means to an end, but the noise, dirt on the road and dust was indescribable.

"Now it looks like it is to happen again and we as residents, yet again, reap no benefits from this.

"A quarry is an eyesore know matter how you dress it up." Skateraw is recognised by birdwatchers as one of the premier sites for migrants in East Lothian, and the shoreline is near to where James Hutton, considered the father of modern geology, made many of his significant discoveries at Siccar Point.