THERE were angry scenes at the town hall after planning chiefs gave a bus firm the green light to continue using a depot residents say has blighted their lives.

There were cries of "utter disgrace", "traitor" and "arrogance" as Bolton Council's planning committee approved Tyrers Coaches application to operate from its base off Bloomfield Road, in Farnworth.

The panel was split over the application — which had previously been refused —but the application was narrowly approved by 10 votes to nine.

Tyrers coaches will continue to operate from the site, which backs on to residents' houses in Conway Street.

But it must continue to comply with a noise management plan agreed with the council following the initial refusal of the application in March 2017.

Speaking for Tyrers in support of the application Dan Matthewman said the firm had "overcome the reasons for the original refusal by working diligently with council officers".

And he added that it was "inescapable" that the site was in an "accessible location providing secure employment" and that there were no planning reasons for refusing the application.

But residents hit out at the firm's claim it had dealt with noise and disturbance and that the air quality was being affected by the M61 motorway rather than the bus depot.

John Anderton, spokesman for the objectors, told the panel that noise pollution was not the sole concern of residents and that air quality and general disturbance were also big concerns.

Describing how the firm's operations were continuing to impact on residents, he said: "If you go into people's back gardens you can smell the emissions, if you look from your bedroom window you can taste the emissions from the buses.

"They start to leave at 7am in the morning and you can hear engines revving and you can hear brakes squealing, all before 8 in the morning.

"When there are evening football matches the buses return up to 11.45pm, sometimes later when they get held up in traffic."

Cllr Debbie Newall opposed the application, saying Tyrers had "not been good neighbours" to residents.

"I don't think neighbours should have to put up with this imposition - literally on their doorstep . If people say they can smell and taste the emissions it's not good enough to just dismiss what they are saying."

And Nick Peel said the the court order instructing the council and Tyrers to create the a noise management plan appeared to have been a result of magistrates being unable to deal with the complex issues.

He added: "It's rare to find and application that causes as much angst as this one has. As a member of the committee I don't like it when I feel bounced into a particular decision."

Cllr Peel continued: "I still feel to this day that it's an incompatible relationship between residential and industrial."

But there were supporters of the application on the committee.

Cllr John Walsh said the officer's report made it "very clear" the noise that could be heard from residents properties came mainly from the nearby M61 motorway, rather than the bus depot. And he added that the site had always had an industrial use, and if the application were rejected it could end up being used for a purpose "more noxious and objectionable than a bus depot."

Fellow Conservative, Cllr Andy Morgan, added: "It's unacceptable to place all the problems on this applicant, there are bigger issues of air pollution in that corridor."

Committee members including councillors Peel and Newall were minded to refuse the application so residents would have the opportunity to present all their evidence at a pending public inquiry.

However, if Tyrers now withdraw from the inquiry, having been granted the permission they were seeking, it will not now go ahead.