WILDLIFE could be affected if conditions set on a development of more than 100 homes in Westhoughton are relaxed, according to a councillor.

An application to change four conditions on the planning permission to build 106 houses at the former Roscoe's Farm have been submitted.

The "minor" amendments would allow the construction to get underway sooner by dispensing with requirements such as erecting a protective fence around existing trees on the site.

Mark Saunders, who submitted the application on behalf of NJL Consulting, told the planning department that the area is known to have no contamination issues and development will not impact on existing or ecologically sensitive areas.

However, a Westhoughton councillor is concerned about the impact these changes could have on wildlife, including badgers and deer.

The plans, submitted in 2015, were approved by a narrow margin of 11 votes to nine at a planning committee meeting in August of that year.

However, the planning permission is due to expire on May 2 this year, meaning construction on the site off Bolton Road must begin by then.

Cllr Zoë Kirk-Robinson fought the development as one of her first acts as a councillor.

She said: "The proposed changes feel, to me, like a desperate, last-ditch attempt to break ground before the current planning permission runs out.

"They don’t have long left on it and they won’t have time to fulfil all the constraints in the conditions unless they start work now."

In December, developers Miller Homes and Peel Land and Property submitted plans to add more homes to the development.

An application to build an additional 22 homes, taking the total to 128, was unanimously rejected at a Westhoughton Town Council meeting.

It is due to be discussed by Bolton's planning committee.

Cllr Kirk-Robinson said she "highly doubts" that the original application would be passed by the planning committee today.

She is concerned that the changes the developer is asking for are written in a way that downplays how important they are.

She said: "The damage to the wildlife was a fundamental concern, so any reduction in the strength of the conditions threatens that."

The Westhoughton North and Chew Moor councillor has written to the planning department asking for the application to be discussed by councillors at the next committee meeting.

She added: "I cannot stress enough how fundamental the protections in these conditions are."