A residents' petition condemning a proposed ballast mountain was presented last night (FRI) to Oxford East MP Andrew Smith.

Railtrack wants to put 200,000 tonnes of granite near Hinksey open-air swimming pool at Hinksey Sidings in south Oxford.

Under planning law, Railtrack does not need planning permission for the development. But its scale has led Oxfordshire County Council to consider serving a special direction which could ultimately force the company to apply for planning permission in the normal way.

Campaign organisers of the Stop The Quarry Action Group presented the 1,000-name petition condemning Railtrack's plans to their MP at a special meeting at his Rose Hill surgery.

They hope he will lobby Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott to intervene on their behalf.

Campaign spokesman Suzy Middleton-Heath said: "We were pleased with the opportunity to present our petition to Andrew Smith.

"It carries the name of a huge number of families who all feel they would be adversely affected by Railtrack's plans.

"We hope he will be able to pass our concerns on to John Prescott who would ultimately make the decision on what Railtrack can and can't do. "Pressure is now building on the county council to issue an Article Four direction and we want that to take place before a meeting on October 12 when the whole issue will be discussed."

The Article Four direction, which would need the consent of the Government, would force Railtrack to apply for planning permission in the normal way - but could also result in the county council having to compensate the company.

At yesterday's (FRI) meeting with planning officers, Railtrack officials were expected to produce new proposals to reduce noise from the depot, which would be used by trucks and trains from 6am to 10pm every day.

Council officers will report back to the planning sub-committee on October 12 - when councillors could serve the Article Four direction if they are still unhappy.

Mr John Duncalfe, minerals officer for the county council, said: "The key thing is noise. The feeling is that the level of noise would be such as to cause a statutory nuisance. That would be grounds to serve an Article Four direction."

He added: "The general environment in that area of Oxford is very attractive. Railtrack is proposing to put, in effect, an industrial process very close to it which would be necessary to operate in not unsociable hours."

Railtrack says the Hinksey site is the only suitable location in the region to stockpile ballast, used to lay base for tracks.

If the plans go ahead, it will be one of 13 such stockpiles across the country and part of the company's £1bn investment in railway infrastructure.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.