Plans to expand Aberllefenni Quarry slate production would replace current lorry traffic through Corris, the company has said.

The planning application submitted in December proposes to extend the extraction and processing of slate, processing 10,000 tons yearly for up to 16 years.

The work would lead to 12-15 heavy-goods vehicles leaving the site six days a week, driving through Corris to the A487.

Some Corris residents are concerned about these plans in light of another recent proposal which would begin the transport of 10-12,000 tons of timber through the village, equating to 400 lorry loads weighing 44 tons each.

However the slate company David Meredith and Sons Ltd has since confirmed their proposals would replace rather than add to the current traffic, totalling two loads a day, 10 lorries a week.

Wayne Colquhoun, whose property sits on Corris’ main road, said: “Corris could be clogged.

“There is a real safety issue here as Corris is a lovely quaint village where people meet and talk on the street.

“The houses in Bridge Street mostly open onto the road.

“A child could be killed.”

However, Gwynedd Councillor John Pughe Roberts said to conflate the two proposals would be misleading: “Corris has had slate mining for hundreds of years - it creates work locally and has got to carry on.

“[Slate lorries] are lighter and smaller than timber wagons - it’s a different scenario and can’t be compared.”

Robert and David of Meredith and Sons Ltd explained: “We are not aware of any safety concerns or deterioration of any buildings, bridges or roads over the last 20 years of operations.

“We were not aware of [the new forestry haulage plans].

“We need this permission to find the larger lumps of slate and maintain working at the mill - if there are enough pieces we could employ more.”