TOWN Councillor Steve Rock's absurd suggestion that houses be built on Queens Park and Leverhulme Park was, I presume, an ill-considered attempt at humour but was, nevertheless, irresponsible, because its intent was to propagate the "fake news" that Bolton Council foists house building on Horwich.

One of the unforeseen but positive consequences of the concern over Peel Developments' application to build on Horwich Golf Course has been the increased awareness among residents of the realities of planning.

As an experienced politician, Cllr Rock knows or should know, what so many of his fellow citizens now realise, that Bolton Council and its planning committee operate within parameters set by national government.

When the application comes before Bolton's planning committee, I am hopeful it will be refused because the golf course is designated as "protected open land" in Bolton's Local Plan.

However, if Peel goes to appeal before a government inspector, precedents in Westhoughton and Blackrod suggest we will have to fight very hard to prevent any refusal from being overturned.

This is because the Conservative Government does not prioritise building on brownfield sites and does not instruct inspectors to respect local plans.

This is the reality. Steve Rock does a disservice to the Horwich community by obfuscating that reality and pretending that possible future building on the golf course will be the fault of Bolton Council.

Cllr Kevin McKeon

Horwich North East