CIVIL war could be about to break out in a quiet corner of Chorley with a village divided by the town's planners.

Disgruntled residents in Lower Adlington are fuming at the prospect of staring at rubbish skips for the next 18 months.

But just two miles away, villagers will enjoy the benefit of a major new housing and leisure development.

Homeowners in the Market Street area were recently notified by the council that Fairport Engineering has applied to turn an area of derelict land near its premises into a waste storage yard.

Residents fear they will have to put up with bad smells, flies and even rats if the council allows a local engineering firm to dump rubbish in the containers.

And they were even more upset when they discovered another part of the village, near Fairview Farm, has been set aside by the council's planning chiefs for facilities including 200 new houses; a sports pavilion and a youth and toddler centre.

Proposals to build on the council owned 10-hectare site were rubber stamped at a meeting last week.

Market Street area residents claim the land had already been earmarked for industrial or office development and say the skips will create an eyesore and problems with pests.

Roger Fairhurst, of nearby Canal Street, who is leading a campaign against the application, said: "One half of Adlington gets all these facilities while all we get is nothing more than a scrapyard, which will bring flies and probably rats. It just doesn't seem fair

"If these skips are filled with all sorts of rubbish we'll get a sickening smell."

The residents will hand in a petition with more than 100 signatures at the town hall and have been given until next Thursday, July 21 to send comments to planning officers.

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