CRICKET club officials have defended plans to sell part of their Horwich ground to a housing developer.

Controversy erupted when the Horwich RMI Cricket Club announced plans to sell a strip of land which overlooks Ramsbottom Road.

A building firm has submitted a planning application for 12 houses on the site, which will mean the demolition of the present club pavilion.

But the developer will be obliged to build a new state-of-the-art pavilion on the other side of the ground.

The existing pavilion was severely damaged by vandals recently and club officials were outraged by accusations from a local resident.

Nigel Farnworth, who lives on Ramsbottom Road, suggested that the club had encouraged vandals by allowing the pavilion to fall into disrepair.

The pavilion is termed 'disused' in the plans which went before Bolton Council but club officials denied that this was because it had been neglected.

Vice-chairman Ken Burns accepted that windows had been broken in the pavilion on a regular basis. But he emphasised that the building was always secure and windows never left open. Maintenance had been carried out within tight budgets.

Mr Burns said some Ramsbottom Road residents were opposed to having new houses across from them and were opposing the development.

He explained: "The pavilion has been referred to as disused. But the houses will only be built if planning permission is granted for the building of the new pavilion, in which case the current pavilion WOULD be disused.

"If the application was unsuccessful money would be spent on the existing pavilion."

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