A planning application seeking the reopening of Horn Crag Quarry was refused by Bradford Council in May last year.

But applicant AD Calvert Architectural Stone Supplies has lodged an appeal against the refusal decision, and a public inquiry is scheduled for next month. The hearing is listed for six days, beginning on February 20.

Now an online petition has been started, at change.org/p/save-horn-crag, in a renewed campaign of opposition.

Heading up the petition is Sarah Walker, who says: "The planning application was one of the most objected to that Bradford Council had received in years – there were over 1,000 objections on the council's planning portal and by post.

"When the applicant lodged an appeal against the refusal we had limited time before Christmas to submit statements and letters to the Planning Inspectorate, so once the December 27 deadline had passed we started the petition – which we will present to the inquiry.

"The support for the petition has been incredible – we raised over 700 signatures in just three days, not only from people locally, but nationally and even internationally.

"Huge thanks go to everyone who has worked so hard to fight this, both when the planning application was submitted and now for the appeal.

"Local residents are particularly concerned about the environmental aspects of this proposed scheme – the risk to groundwater and private water supplies, risks to health, and potential noise and light pollution.

"There are also concerns about heavy goods vehicles using the country lanes, the safety of walkers and horse riders, and the further traffic congestion which would be created.

"The visual impact on the landscape would be huge, as would the effect on wildlife and protected species."

The plan would see 520,000 tonnes of Yorkshire Stone taken from the Horn Crag site, which is in the green belt.

AD Calvert argues that the stone which would be quarried is vital for the maintenance and restoration of stone-built structures, saying there is a "demonstrable need" for it.

The applicant said there would be a maximum of ten HGV movements a day, and that the site would be restored once all the stone was extracted. It refuted claims the scheme constituted inappropriate development.

AD Calvert was contacted by the Craven Herald's sister paper, the Keighley News for comment, but hadn't responded at the time of writing.