CAMPAIGNERS battling to save Portland's coastal strip from quarrying have been given fresh hope by a new report.

A newly-published Dorset County Council document questions the legality of quarrying at the southern tip of the island and recommends that councillors modify existing planning permission for the work.

Permission in 1951 to quarry the land has been called into question in relation to the Habitats Regulations 1994 Act.

This act allows local authorities to safeguard any Site of Special Scientific Interest that would be affected by certain works.

Stone Firms Ltd is planning to quarry the coast strip near Portland Bill, from the Portland Bird Observatory to Church Ope Cove.

The company aims to use original mineral consents awarded 57 years ago - and still active - by the old Ministry of Housing at a time of post-war reconstruction and a need for jobs.

County councillors will be asked to consider the review at a meeting of the planning committee tomorrow.

The report says the extraction of 22,000 cubic metres of stone would affect the integrity of Portland's Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

Stone Firms could receive millions of pounds in compensation from the county council if planning permission is modified, the review says.

These modifications could include ordering Stone Firms to source dimension stone from elsewhere or by using underground mining techniques.

Council officers are still waiting to hear from central government about how much the authority could offer Stone Firms.

Two other authorities - Devon and Kent County Councils - have been fully reimbursed by central government for modifying or revoking permissions under the Habitats Regulations.

Quarry bosses have also discussed a deal to sell the land to the National Trust, but the charity has said it would only offer the agricultural value of the land - not its industry price.

The remainder would have to be funded by central government, the review says.

Alternative solutions set out by the review include the option of extracting stone from northern France as substitute for Portland Stone.

Supplies of substitute dimension stone could also be used instead, such as Purbeck stone and Bath stone.

Another option listed is the use of underground mining to access stone reserves.

Stone Firms also produces crushed rock aggregate and sea defence armour stone - and this could be supplied by crushed limestone from Swansworth Quarry on the Isle of Purbeck, the review says.

It concludes that there are reasonable and credible solutions that could meet the potential need for the supply of the stone.

The report warns, however, that Stone Firms may seek to challenge lawyers' interpretation of development rights granted by the planning permission.