Residents have been left devastated after a controversial new quarry spanning more than 25 hectares was given the green light.

Hampshire County Council had twice previously refused the planning application for a quarry on land at Ashley Manor Farm in New Milton - but the chair of the planning committee has apologised after granting it planning permission at the third time of asking.

The quarry, which will be 1.2 kilometres from the New Forest National Park, will occupy land currently used for agricultural purposes.

Each year, 150,000 tonnes of sand and gravel will be extracted, with New Milton Sand and Ballast Ltd applying to operate the site for 11.5 years.

The plans were met with fierce resistance from people living in New Milton, with the council receiving 332 comments – 306 against and just 26 in support.

However, despite the opposition and fears about an increase in pollution, noise, being the “wrong” place for a quarry, and questions about the need for a quarry, county councillors approved the decision last Wednesday.

At the meeting, Julia Bowen, a resident of New Milton, said that a quarry of this size cannot be hidden from the entrance of the town and the high street, and therefore, “who wants to visit an industrialised town?”.

Mrs Bowen pledged the council to support residents and businesses and refuse the application “for a third time, for the previous reasons, and many more since”.

Another resident, Marilyn Husband, asked a councillor how a quarry could improve what was there already.

Mrs Husband said that when the 1996 application was refused, the local plan inspector report highlighted the open space’s peculiarity, which distinguished the surroundings, providing “long-open views” of the countryside categorised as “invaluable” for the area.

“New Milton does not want a gravel pit in its backyard,” she said.

On behalf of the applicant, officers said that the quarry is needed so sand and gravel do not have not be imported from outside the county, but pledged to address concerns.

As a result of the plan, a new fourth arm will be added opposite Caird Avenue at an enlarged roundabout with the A337.

Chair of the regulatory committee, Peter Latham, said: “You can only get sand and gravel where it is found. Inevitably, it is on sites, which probably, are inappropriate. I understand everything I heard from all of you, and if I were a New Milton resident, I’d feel the same.

“Reluctantly, I’ll go along with the recommendation. I’m sorry.”