PLANS to build a new housing estate next to a former tip have been thwarted by councillors due to fears of contamination.

The 42-home estate on the site of a disused railway cutting in Kearsley was refused planning permission because of its proximity to Singing Clough.

This initial proposal involved using the site between Bolton Road and Springfield Road as an infill for soil and clay before building the homes.

Kearsley councillor Julie Pattison shared reports about the adjacent site with the committee warning the dangers of development.

This included one which described the former landfill site as a "ticking time bomb" and another recent report which said the land must be left untouched for a century.

She said: "The residents are really concerned about this."

Councillors were also concerned about unidentified mine shafts in the area.

Speaking on behalf of the applicant, a representative said she understood the concerns about Singing Clough but stressed that this development would not be on this site.

She said that the homes would provide significant benefits to the area with 35 per cent of them set to be affordable.

Cllr Sean Hornby said that this application reminded him of a similar one near the Darcy Lever railway while Cllr Zoë Kirk-Robinson said she was getting "flashbacks" to Roscoe's Farm. Concerns were also raised about traffic.

All but two councillors voted to refuse the application.