COUNCIL leader Cllr Bob Howarth today declared that Bolton's "green week" will go ahead ... even though Friends of the Earth have pulled out.

A furious Cllr Howarth launched a scathing attack on FoE co-ordinator Dennis Watson who announced they were quitting a council environment forum.

The news was broken on the on the eve of showpiece Environment Week.

Mr Watson - who was described as "an oddball" by the council leader - claimed that the council's waste management and re-cycling policies had "made a mockery of the event."

But Cllr Howarth said: "The work goes ahead with or without Mr Watson.

"He is in a fortunate position where he can avoid difficult decisions. We cannot do that on this council.

"He attacks us on the Red Moss issue. But what does Mr Watson think that we can do with all our waste?

"At the moment it goes into Cheshire, but the county council there is telling us they have had enough.

"He talks about re-cycling. But at most, that would only deal with 25 pc of the rubbish. "I was also astonished to read his criticism of the sports village scheme at Horwich. I do wonder what sort of world he is living in.

"If this comes off, it is the largest single job creation scheme we have had in this area for decades.

"It would create 3,000 new jobs. Only oddballs like Mr Watson can sit on the sidelines and go on about us encouraging traffic promoting schemes.

"If this does not go ahead, where does he propose those new jobs will come from to replace the thousands we have lost.

"Mr Watson is in the position where he has the luxury of not having to make decisions."

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