DEVELOPERS set to build 37 homes on a former greyhound stadium have offered Bolton Council a quarter of the cash they initially promised for affordable housing, schools and healthcare.

Plans to build houses on the former greyhound racetrack at Wigan Road, Westhoughton, were initially approved in October 2013 – with the stadium knocked down last year.

But planning policies require developers of new estates to provide cash to pay for facilities to benefit the community, such as affordable housing, open spaces, health and wellbeing, education and public art.

This is known as a section 106 legal agreement – and Bolton Council planners initially calculated the contribution for Sparkle Developments, who plan to build the houses in Westhoughton, to be more than £433,000.

This included a requirement for five affordable houses, costing £270,000, to be built on the site.

The plans were discussed at a town hall planning meeting yesterday after it was revealed that, due to various costs, Sparkle Developments now plan to pay just £103,776.

The figure, a 75 per cent reduction on the original suggestion, does not include cash for any affordable housing to be built on the site but includes £44,112 for it to be built elsewhere.

The contribution also includes £6,700 for education, nearly £6,500 for open spaces, £1,354 for health and more than £12,000 for public art, along with £30,000 for road improvements.

Cllr Anna-Marie Watters said while it was disappointing to receive less 106 monies, the committee had to be mindful of supporting local business.

However, she branded the developer’s decision to give little more than £1,000 to public health but more than £12,000 for public art “ridiculous” and suggested these two figures were combined.

Cllr Bob Allen said: “We are being railroaded into the view that developers always have to make a profit on every development, when that is not the case.

“It is completely unacceptable to reduce the monies, and I am very concerned about the lack of affordable housing.”

Cllr Nick Peel said in the past the decision had been deferred for council officers to go back to the developer, but the monetary offer had stayed the same.

He added: “It is always worth renegotiating but it is not simply a case of having the planning authority rolling over and having its tummy tickled by a clever developer."

The committee voted to defer the decision to a subsequent meeting, in the hope the section 106 contribution will be increased by Sparkle Developments.