BURY'S battle to protect green fields from developers lands in the High Court today.
The local authority believes that 18 acres of land at Spen Moor, owned by Peel Investments (Northern) Ltd, should be granted Green Belt status.
Controversy has surrounded the land south of Bolton Road between Bury and Radcliffe for more than 10 years. Bury has already resisted a Government inspector's recommendation on an amendment to the Unitary Development Plan, which shapes the future of the borough, that the area should not be Green Belt listed, leading to a challenge from the land owners.
Council leader Cllr Derek Boden added: "The original legal challenge from Peel Investments came as little surprise, but we feel it is in the interest of the borough to fight to protect this land at Spen Moor."
"Going to the High Court is not something we do lightly, but we feel strongly in this instance that we would be failing local people."
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article