The proposal has also raised fears it could have a "catastrophic" impact on the habitat of the local red squirrel population.

Angle Park Sand and Gravel Company Ltd. wants to expand its existing quarry at Melville Gates into agricultural land and part of North Annsmuir Wood, a long-standing proposal that dates back to 2005.

The company intends to extract 975,000 tonnes of sand and gravel over a period of six and a half years, with another year required for restoration.

The company's planning application has been opposed by many residents of nearby Annsmuir Park, who feel left out of the consultation and concerned about the potential noise, dust and loss of woodland arising from the project.

Fife Coast and Countryside Trust has also condemned the plan, saying it would have "a serious and detrimental impact on the ecological assets of the North Annsmuir Woods and surrounding environs".

But Angle Park has emphasised any tree felling would be carried out gradually under the responsibility of the Forestry Commission, which owns the land, and restored through replanting afterwards.

In addition, if the application was granted, the company would transfer the ownership of 14 hectares of land east of Ladybank to the Forestry Commission with the aim of developing a new community woodland.

Annsmuir Residents Association secretary Libby Thorman said a petition against the quarry expansion had attracted 600 signatures and the 100 park residents — many retired and almost all in permanent homes — did not want the increase in noise and traffic that would result from the works.

"We moved up there for peace and quiet, not to have a motorway next to us," she said.

Miss Thorman claimed there had been a lack of consultation with park residents by Angle Park and agents Dalgleish Associates, saying a meeting that was held did not address their concerns.

"This is our home, but they don't seem to care," she said.

Fife Coast and Countryside Trust manager Amanda McFarlane said the proposed measures to minimise or offset the expansion's environmental impact "fall well short of what is required to protect the ecological assets of the site".

"It is not possible to clearfell the area without displacing the resident bat and red squirrel populations through catastrophic loss of habitat and disturbance," she wrote in her objection.

Angle Park Sand and Gravel Company Ltd. is a family-run business that has supplied sand and gravel to the Fife market since 1961.

Director Ian Cuthbert said the nature of the quarry business meant working through and then restoring areas by replanting, with the sand and gravel being needed for house building work as well as civil projects such as hospitals, schools and roads.

"Do people want a local sand pit or want to haul it from further away? The reason I'm here is that people need it," he told the Fife Herald.

Mr Cuthbert said Angle Park felt confident it could restore the site adequately and planned to replant mainly with Scots Pine, a preferred habitat for red squirrels.

His son and quarry manager Peter Cuthbert said the company understood people might be apprehensive about the loss of woodland, but felt there could be "a net gain" for the community in the long term through the transfer of 14 hectares to the Forestry Commission.