Officials of Ningbo City in China’s Zhejiang Province have decided to halt the expansion of a petrochemical plant due to strong protest from local residents.

The Associated Press reports that about one-thousand people protested Sunday outside a city government building against a plan to expand the plant, which is being pushed by China’s state-owned oil company Sinopec.

The AP says the protest was peaceful but tensions flared after 200 government security officers ripped down banners without any warning and took some protesters away.

A spokesman for the Ningbo city government said in a statement that the expansion plan will be shelved until a scientific study is conducted.