Paul Richardson, who represents Masham and Fountains, is seeking a judicial review at the High Court in London over a decision to grant an extension for sand and gravel extraction at the Ripon City Quarry near to his home at Littlethorpe.

Also in court was parish Councillor Wendy Orme who claims the decision to grant permission to Brown and Potter Ltd is legally flawed.

Their barrister, Robert McCracken, argued that Councillor Richardson was unfairly barred from a meeting of the county council's planning committee which looked into the issue.

'Finely balanced'

Mr Richardson was banned from the room because of the proximity of his home to the quarry.

The decision to exclude Mr Richardson was "finely balanced", acknowledged Mr McCracken, but he claimed members of the committee "misconstrued" its code of conduct.

Mr McCracken also argued that the granting of planning permission was undermined by a lack of sufficient information about the environmental damage that could stem from the extension.

But the county council's barrister, Timothy Straker QC, defended the local authority's position.

Code of conduct

He stressed that Mr Richardson was never in fact excluded from the planning committee meeting.

He told the judge: "He was advised that under the code of conduct he should not participate in the meeting, and he accepted that advice.

"He was not physically or otherwise excluded," he said.

The hearing continues.