KITCHENER -- It’s been a rocky start for a local construction company looking to build a gravel pit near Mayhill, with some residents opposing the project.

The company says the proposed site, on Forester Road in Woolwich Township, will help support future infrastructure projects.

Puslinch-based company Capital Paving is looking to lease the land and transform it into a gravel pit, but some residents who live in the area say it isn’t the right fit for the community.

“It will be a mess. There will be a great big hole in the ground,” says Bonnie Bryant of Hopewell Creek Ratepayers Association.

Maryhill resident and former councillor Bonnie Bryant says the proposed 68 hectare extraction site will be more than just an eyesore.

“It's an incompatible land use when you look at the businesses that surround this, the village,” she says.

Bryant is part of the Hopewell Creek Ratepayers Association, a citizens' group formed to protest the planned project.

In a statement, the company says that they previously approached residents for input on the pit.

“We approached adjacent landowners in the fall of 2017 (1 ½ years before the application was submitted) and advised the neighbours that we were studying the site for a potential gravel pit. At that time, most of the face-to-face interactions were accepting of the proposed pit,” said a statement by George Lourenco, resources manager for Capital Paving Inc.

According to capital paving, if approved it would be in operation for 12 to 15 years

“Why does a business have the right to come in and disrupt the lives and health and safety of a whole community?” asks Bryant.

Sand and gravel would be extracted here to supply construction projects.

Capital Paving claims the dust would be controlled, saying they've done a dust study, but some still worry.

“That dust is going to travel through the village,” says Bryant.

Another concern is traffic, with a projected nine trucks per hour coming through, but the company says the haul route shouldn't include the village.

The project is still moving through various stages of approval.

“We're waiting to get all the information from the applicant and for staff to prepare a report for council so we can weigh the pros and cons,” says Sandy Shantz, Woolwich mayor

Those opposed say they'll be waiting and prepared to keep fighting.

Capital paving says it is listening and is trying to resolve issues and concerns raised by local individuals, businesses and organizations.