VILLAGERS have lost a year-long fight to save their landscape from becoming a large-scale extraction pit.

West Berkshire Council's eastern area planners approved by a 6-2 majority the creation of a 70 hectare gravel extraction site at Lower Farm in Wasing Park, Aldermaston. on Wednesday last week.

Around 2.4m tonnes of sand and gravel will be removed, with the landscape restored using imported materials over 17 to 18 years, and transported daily via the A340 to the Marley Eternit tiling factory in nearby Beenham.

But Dave Shirt, chairman of Aldermaston Parish Council, said villagers were outraged because the scheme will increase traffic and the risk of flooding.

He said: "There have been extractions here for 60 years. We are not against extraction but why can't you wait a few years. Why is it always us that has to suffer?

"There is overwhelming opposition in the parish. We called a public meeting last year and over 100 people came. At the end of the evening there was a vote and the opposition was unanimous."

Padworth parish councillor David Clark added: "Our main concern is the increase in heavy goods vehicles coming through The Wharf. It is not just the numbers of them, it is also the speed."

Developers Lafarge have agreed to pay �60,000 in Section 106 money for highways repairs, anticipating a daily average of 120 HGVs, but West Berkshire finance and property leader, Cllr Alan Law, admitted: "�60,000 gets you nothing. It is not enough."

But he added: "People ask why do we keep extracting minerals from this area, well that is where the minerals are."

The site will cross the parishes of Wasing, Woolhampton and Aldermaston, and Aldermaston Primary School is one of the closest buildings to the site.

Aldermaston district councillor Irene Neill said: "I have concerns about increased noise near the primary school.

Douglas Symes, the agent for Lafarge, said: "We know there are always concerns in the community to do with flooding. We have listened to all of the issues and they have been addressed by the Environment Agency. There will be no adverse impact."

Wasing Park owner Josh Dugdale said: "We have an excellent track record of restoring sites and we will leave it in a better condition than it is now."

Half of the materials will go to make tiles at Beenham and the rest to the wider construction industry. Brian Butcher, Marley Eternit works manager, said: "We have an ongoing need for materials and when the last extraction site expired we had to look elsewhere."