The boss of an Arborfield farm which was set to be mined for 3.6 million tonnes of sand and gravel has responded after council planning chiefs threw out plans.

Hundreds of residents lobbied against the proposal after it opened to public consultation for the second time in mid-July.

Construction company CEMEX UK Operations Ltd. submitted a planning application to mine Bridge Farm, Farley Estate, in Swallowfield in February 2017.

The work could have taken up to 14 years to complete as an aggregate processing plant, a ready-mix concrete plant and conveyor equipment would have taken over the 190-hectare site.

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Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) planning bosses refused the application for a number of reasons, including harm to the environment and countryside and a lack of information demonstrating the development would not increase flood risk and would not harm wildlife or habitats.

Natalie Gaibani, Chief Operating Officer at Farley Estate and daughter of landowner Viscount Bearstead, said she did not know what CEMEX’s next move would be, but suggested to the News a re-submission of the plans might be more likely than CEMEX appealing the refusal.

She added: “I very much doubt that is the end of it.

“We need to address people’s concerns, and we need to show people it’s not going to have the impact they think it is.

“(Building) the relief roads has had an effect on people’s lives and I don’t think this project would be disruptive – it will be more disruptive to us than it will be to anyone else.”

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Speaking about the refusal decision, she said: “The thing that is frustrating is that CEMEX was in touch with planners in June and the environment agency hadn’t got back to us.

“The planners (at WBC) told them to submit the plans without the environmental agency’s report, so to read that ‘not enough information’ has been provided about flooding and habitats (as reasons for refusal) is very frustrating.

“We were hoping to have an opportunity to go to (planning) committee to talk about the merits of the plans.”

Concerns had been raised by residents about the financial practices of CEMEX prior to the application's refusal, after the company posted losses of £664 million and £738 million in the last two years respectively.

Swallowfield resident Alan Marvin, who has repeatedly voiced his opposition to the plans for more than two years, told the News: “I was told on Friday (August 23) and I couldn’t believe it.

“I just don’t understand why it took so long to refuse.

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“The disruption it would have caused to the whole area was appalling.”