OVER one hundred people descended on Weybourne Village Hall last Friday (June 2) to air their views on the Monkton Lane quarry proposals. The meeting was called by South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt and two local campaigners, Gillian Beel and Sam Pritchard.The group wanted to find out how residents feel about Monkton Lane being included in Surrey County Council’s Draft Minerals Plan.Gillian Beel and Sam Pritchard, who are both against the proposals, are leading the fight with Jeremy Hunt to get Surrey County Council to rule out Monkton Lane from its long term plan. Speaking on Monday, Jeremy Hunt described Friday’s meeting as a great success and thanked all 120 people who attended for giving up their time.He said: “No one wants a quarry in their back yard, but there are some particularly powerful reasons why the Monkton Lane site is inappropriate. It is right in the middle of a dense residential area, and supposed to be protected as part of the “strategic gap”. What is the point of protecting an area like that if the protection is only valid until someone comes up with a new way to develop it? “Over the coming months, I will be working closely with Gillian and Sam to try to get the site removed from the list of sites on the preferred option for minerals development. I urge as many people as possible to respond to the Surrey County Council consultation before 9 June.” Ms Beel said: “Like many people, I am really worried for the children and young people who live in Weybourne and Badshot Lea. I personally think that the dust and noise, which will be generated over many years, will have a severely negative impact on our area.”Fellow campaigner Sam Pritchard said he wanted to preserve the area for future generations. During the meeting he also spoke of environmental issues, including the potential increase in volumes of traffic and changes to the junctions at either end of Monkton Lane. He said: “I think putting a quarry in Monkton Lane would be nothing short of environmental vandalism. We don’t want this quarry. Gillian and I want to represent the residents who live around here and free Monkton Lane from the Minerals Plan.” Mr Hunt promised to include all the concerns raised at the meeting in his submission to Surrey County Council. He also promised to send copies of his submission to all who left their names and addresses.