MORE redundancies are to be made at Swinden Quarry, Cracoe - just four years after an extension was given to its life in order to safeguard jobs in the Dales.

The number of jobs to be lost has not been confirmed, but sources told the Herald the workforce could be reduced from 61 to 14, with closure of the blockhouse and maintenance work being done by outside contractors. Owners Tarmac denied the maintenance department would close and said the number of job losses had not been finalised.

At Threshfield Quarry 13 jobs are to go amid rumours that the quarry is to be "mothballed".

The redundancies are likely to cause uproar among members of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, who, in 1995, gave Tilcon planning permission to dig deeper at Swinden until 2020 despite strong opposition from the environmental lobby.

The application roused an employment versus environment debate with then owners Tilcon promising to turn the site into a lake and nature reserve when quarrying ceased.

However, despite many members of the authority supporting the application on the basis it would safeguard the economic future of the area and local jobs, 20 redundancies were announced the following October.

Coun Peter Walbank told the Herald: "One of the reasons the national park gave planning permission for the extended life of the quarry was to give people employment.

"This seems to have been entirely forgotten. In 1996, redundancies were made and now we have another batch.

"There's hardly any employment left in the dale, which means young people are going to have to move from the area. That's if they are fortunate enough to find another job, whilst in Wharfedale it's going to be an ageing population.

"It's a sickening situation where money comes first and employment a very low second. I can only hope that they refrain in the future from asking for my support in any of their grandiose plans because they won't get it."

Steve Macar, chairman of the national park authority who had not heard about the redundancies until contacted by the Herald, said he was very concerned about any possible job losses.

"It's worth remembering that the extension was granted on the grounds of protecting employment, but if they are having difficulty selling their product then unhappily we are in the realms of market forces."

A spokeswoman for Tarmac confirmed there would be redundancies at the Swinden site.

"We are in a redundancy situation due to the redevelopment of the site. However, redundancy numbers have not yet been finalised," she said.

Swinden Quarry was a Tilcon concern, owned by Anglo American plc, which bought Tarmac plc back in March.

The Herald revealed then how Anglo American plc had six months from the end of February to sell 28 of its sites, both former Tilcon and Tarmac concerns, to satisfy competition regulations.