Consultation on controversial gravel extraction and landfill sites on chunks of Norfolk countryside is to be extended by about four weeks, it was announced yesterday.

Consultation on controversial gravel extraction and landfill sites on chunks of Norfolk countryside is to be extended by about four weeks, it was announced yesterday.

Norfolk County Council has said it is going to extend its six week consultation on 104 proposed quarries and 64 landfill sites, due to end on Friday, after protest groups sprang up around the county to fight schemes on their doorsteps.

Opposition reached its peak in Breckland with villages including Bintree, Beeston, Hockham, Harling, Mileham and Bridgham fighting schemes in woodlands and land near their homes, all put forward by landowners and developers.

However, last night a spokesman said consultation on proposed sites was to be extended by about four weeks, although a date had yet to be set.

The consultation on the council's website has already been accessed about 45,000 times over the proposed sites, needed to meet demand for construction materials and for waste disposal up to 2021.

An estimated three million tonnes of sand and gravel and 200,000 tonnes of carstone will be needed from the ground per year up to 2021 to meet housing growth of a planned 78,000 new homes in that time.

Consultation on the council's overall strategy for quarries and waste sites will still end on March 28.

At the moment it suggests that larger minerals sites and waste facilities should be close to the main growth areas of Norwich, Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn and Thetford, with smaller facilities serving growing market towns.

To have your say go to www.norfolk.gov.uk/nmwdf, email ldf@norfolk.gov.uk, call Norfolk County Council on 01603 223219 or write to: Planning Services, Norfolk County Council, Planning and Transportation Department, FREEPOST NC22093/8, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 2BR.