A council meeting about controversial plans for a former quarry came to an abrupt end after a councillor said his son rented land from the applicant’s parent company.

An apologetic Cllr Gareth Thomas declared the interest before a debate about proposals for a rubble and soil recycling operation at Cilyrychen quarry near Llandybie, Carmarthenshire.

His withdrawal from the planning committee meeting on October 22 left it inquorate – without enough members to proceed – and it drew to a close six minutes after it started. One objector described it as “a complete waste of time and public money”.

Earlier in the day councillors had visited the quarry site to see it for themselves. This followed a meeting in August when the committee, following a lengthy debate about the proposal, decided it would be better to visit before making a decision.

Addressing the committee Cllr Thomas said: “I’m not sure where to start, whether to apologise. I didn’t think I did have a close enough need to declare an interest.”

He said was taking the advice of the council solicitor’s and apologised, aware the meeting might have to end. Asked to confirm the nature of the interest he said his son rented land from applicant Dolawen Cyf’s parent company TRJ.

Planning committee chairman Cllr Tyssul Evans said Cllr Thomas’ withdrawal “leaves us in a very difficult situation”. The meeting will have to be reorganised.

Speaking afterwards Julie Morgan, who lives close to the former quarry and was one of the site visit protesters, said of the meeting: “I think it was a complete waste of time and public money. It’s a bit of a farce really.” Llandybie councillor Dai Nicholas, who was planning to address the committee, said he was “extremely disappointed” at the outcome.

The cross-party committee should have 21 councillors but there are four vacancies. Two members apologised in advance that they wouldn’t be present on October 22.

The plans to crush and process process rubble for reuse at Cilyrychen quarry also involve removing some material previously deposited there. At the August meeting, which Cllr Thomas attended, the committee heard from objectors and an agent on behalf Dolawen Cyf and then started debating the application before deciding it would be better to see the site.

Council officers have recommended that the application for approval, saying that reprocessing rubble and soil for re-use in engineering projects was supported by planning policy. Their report acknowledged that several potential negative impacts had been identified but said mitigation measures and planning conditions would reduce the likelihood of significant impacts.

Objectors had submitted 147 letters and a petition with 2,073 signatures. They were worried about the impact of lorries going to and from the site, dust and noise pollution from the crushing machines, effects on ecology and the nearby Cernydd Carmel special area of conservation.

Planning committees normally issue formal approval or refusal of an application but in this instance Carmarthenshire’s can only recommend approval following an intervention by the Welsh Government.

Campaign group Save Cilyrychen Quarry said it was disappointed with the site visit. It said the bus carrying councillors and officers hadn’t stopped at Llandybie. “We had hoped that councillors would have had an opportunity to appreciate the pinch-point in the road, the role of the school crossing, the proximity of residential areas to the proposed location for this application,” it said in a statement. “The bus went straight through the village to the quarry, with the gates clanging shut behind it.”