The sale of Westbury’s Lafarge cement works has led to renewed fears locally the plant could fall into disrepair.

The works and its quarry closed in April 2009 due to the recession, with the loss of more than 60 jobs, and has been mothballed for the last six years.

Now its sale, part of a £7.4 billion deal by Irish-based company CRH, has re-awakened concerns that the site will continue to degrade and cause significant problems for the area.

David Levy, chairman of environmental pressure group The Air That We Breathe Network, is not convinced by the takeover and believes that the land will be abandoned and any assets sold.

“The plant cannot be re-opened because most of the equipment has gone, which means the site is left with a 300-foot hole in the ground,” he said.

“Is a company going to want to spend millions of pounds making it right? Probably not, I fear it is going to be a matter of selling off bits, like the kilns, to other people.

“I completely blame Wiltshire Council, they were warned six years ago that they should have made Lafarge put a contingency pot of money to the side for the restoration of the plant.

“I’m worried, because who would pick up the tab to ensure the site is safe because at the minute it has asbestos and all sorts of other rubbish on it.”

Gordon King, Wiltshire councillor for Westbury, said: “We’ve been trying to work with Lafarge to sort the site out but what I don’t want, really don’t want, is that this site should be left to degrade, particularly the chalk quarry.

“Personally I feel as though we are back at stage one now and that it could take five maybe even 10 years to get it back to where it was. We don’t know what CRH’s plans are but to restart the site would be very difficult.”

“The transfer arrangements as far as I know have only just happened and so CRH really need to get their feet under the table. Wiltshire Council officers are going to wait an appropriate length of time and then contact them so they know what the community think about the issue.”

The acquisition of Lafarge’s assets by CRH, along with those of fellow rival Holcim, will make the Irish company the third-biggest building materials supplier in the world.

The Wiltshire Times tried to contact CRH this week, but received no response to calls or emails.