PEOPLE in Bordon and its surrounding areas are being urged to join the fight for a cut in sand and gravel extraction, by the leader of the county council. In February residents in Kingsley, Standford and Hollywater were outraged when controversial plans to mine green spaces were published. The plans followed a government requirement of the council to identify sufficient land to allow the extraction of up to 2.63 million tonnes per annum of sand and gravel up until 2016. But council leader Ken Thornber now wants residents to tell the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) that Hampshire deserves a more sustainable and lower figure. A new lower figure of 1.82 million tonnes per annum would mean fewer sites for sand and gravel extraction would be needed. Extensions to the Frith End quarry, in Sleaford, and the Kingsley quarry, in Kingsley, could be made as part of the extraction plans. These sites will be discussed by the county council cabinet at its meeting on Monday. The Hampshire Minerals Plan will then go to the full council for decision on Thursday, July 10. However, plans to extract gravel at Malthouse and Osborne Farms, on the A325 between Bordon and Farnham, as well as from land involved in the Whitehill and Bordon Opportunity (the development opportunity facing the town when the Army leaves in 2012) have been removed from the list of potential sites. Removed sites include: Broxhead Common, a Special Protection Area just outside Bordon; the Walldown Triangle in Whitehill, and large parts of the village of Hollywater. Mr Thornber said: "The county council thinks it's important to identify sites to provide sufficient material to meet local needs in the most sustainable way, but wants this to be based on a proper assessment of the need and not an out-of- date government target. "We think a planned approach by the county council is better than not planning and then letting (government) planning inspectors impose sites on us, wherever they wish. "The identification of minerals' sites is guaranteed to raise community concern, with people anxious about the risks to the tranquillity of their communities and the impact that extraction could have on their enjoyment of the area in which they live. "This plan is not the full picture of what will happen - each site will require a planning application and we'll ensure that the operator does as much as possible to minimise the impacts of the operations and the traffic that they generate. "Let me say at the outset, I understand many of the views expressed - and there have been 14,000 representations to us on our Minerals Plan - but the stark fact is that sand and gravel are where they are and there's little choice regarding location in some parts of the county. "The sites comprise a combination of existing quarries and new locations. "This works out as 10 new sand an gravel sites, with 13 existing sites which continue into the plan period but which will be gradually replaced. "People may ask why we need so much gravel. It's a vital component of many elements of infrastructure - such as schools, hospitals, roads and houses. "And let's not lose sight of the fact that the sites can become valuable recreational areas once extraction has been completed - it's a common misconception that landfill is the inevitable conclusion. "The county council sends the least percentage of waste to landfill than any other county authority in the UK - currently less than a fifth. "I can assure residents that none of the sites identified for mineral extraction are proposed for landfill, except one in Ringwood Forest, if required beyond 2016. In fact, our aim is always to put back the sites, as soon as practicable, to beneficial uses - like agriculture, forestry or recreation - or simply to increase the variety of our wildlife habitats." A spokesperson for the county council said: "The trend in sales of sand and gravel over the past decade clearly shows that 2.63 million tonnes per annum of production is not needed. In addition, Hampshire's share of regional supply requirements was based on past production and no weight was given to sustainability considerations. "Large areas of Hampshire are protected by national and international designations, allowing far fewer choices of where to extract minerals." Responses to SEERA can be made via the website http://www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/">www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/ sustainability_minerals.html.