Action could be taken to stop waste material being recycled without permission in a disused limestone quarry near Kidlington.

Oxfordshire County Council is planning to serve a notice on Bride Parks (Oxford) Ltd demanding to know what is happening at the former cement works it owns near Shipton-on-Cherwell.

Bride Parks says it has written to the council four times seeking clarification over the issue, without getting a response.

John Duncalfe, the council's team leader of minerals and waste development control, said Bride Parks had permission to bring material into the former quarry for stabilising some slopes which were in danger of collapsing.

He said that permission -- which applies to a small part of the site -- ran until March 2006 although it "appeared" that the stabilization work, being carried out by contractors Earthline Ltd, was nearly complete.

But, following a complaint from a member of the public, the council discovered that a washing and grading plant had been installed to turn soil, bricks and concrete into aggregate.

Mr Duncalfe said the machine was not in an area of the quarry where stabilization works were allowed, and it did not look as though the recycled material was being used for that purpose.

He feared the aggregate was being produced for sale.

The council was due to serve a planning contravention notice on Bride Parks by the end of this week, giving the company three weeks to supply the information.

The council could then consider enforcement action.

A spokesman for Bride Parks said: "We have sought clarification with regard to these issues from the council in letters in November 2003, January 2004 and twice in May 2004 without response.

"We have written to the council again on December 20, suggesting a site visit."

Dan Taylor, a spokesman for the Environment Agency, said Bride Parks had a waste management licence exemption with the agency, enabling it to move certain controlled waste on to the site to be used for road construction at the quarry, rather than disposal.

He added: "We will now be investigating whether there has been any infringement of that exemption."