More than 1,500 people have signed a petition against plans to develop countryside off the M65.

Members of Protect our Greenbelt Guide and Belthorn have been campaigning against proposals to develop 94 acres of greenbelt land near junction 5 of the motorway.

The group - Protect our Greenbelt and Rural Communities - opposes the inclusion of the green fields between Belthorn and Guide, in Blackburn with Darwen Council's draft Local Plan for job-creating development.  

The group are opposing any development on the protected Green Belt land.

Monte Blackburn Ltd, the property arm of EG Group founders' Mohsin and Zuber Issa's business empire, has a legal option on the land between Belthorn and Guide.

The petition totalling 1,525 signatures has now been submitted to the council.

It says: “The villages of Guide and Belthorn support a strong community who are fighting to preserve their village life. 

“The strong community supports a history society who protect the local heritage of the villages, all this will be lost if the council continue with its current plan to develop this land.

“Once this moorland is destroyed it cannot be replaced and its loss will have a massive negative impact on generations to come who will find themselves born into a land with even less  green space and wildlife, a land full of pollutants and a country of urban sprawl with dangerous congested roads.

Is this what you want for your children?”

It adds: “The B6232 is renowned for being an accident hotspot, exposed to the elements at an altitude of over 300m it is often congested for several miles at peak times, causing congestion and obstruction to emergency vehicles accessing the local hospital.

“Over the past 17 years there has been 12 fatalities, 30 accidents with life-changing injuries and 180 other accidents."

Lancashire Telegraph:

Some images from the wildlife report which includes detailed recordings made by a group of residents within the area of Belthorn and Guide.

Locals against the development have also formed a group of wildlife watchers and produced a calendar from some of the photographs they collected. 

Kathryn Sharpe from the Protect our Greenbelt Guide and Belthorn said: “The aim of the calendar was to raise awareness of the plight of the wildlife in the area and to raise funds to pay for representation at the council hearings.

“We have also had a botanist and an ornithologist look at the wildlife on the site and the ornithologist, who also worked on west Pennine moor, to collate information to register it as a SSSi (Site of Special Scientific Interest), has advised us that the land appears to fit the criteria to be registered as a Biological Heritage Site (BHS).

“We are hoping that a decision will be made in March 2023 as to whether the land will become a registered BHS.”

The reports says: “This data has been collected by interviewing local farmers and residents who have lived in this area over the past 50 years. 

“Belthorn is a small community and many residents have lived here for several generations and as such are able to provide a wealth of historical information.

“Locals confirm that the area has supported colonies of nesting lapwings, skylarks, curlews, oystercatchers, newts, and brown hare.

"We are also aware that snipe have been reported in this area along with large numbers of golden plover in winter. Sitings of sparrow hawks, kestrels, starlings, chaffinch, bats and pied wagtails have also been reported

“Following consultations with the experts who have kindly assisted with the recordings in this area, we feel that the evidence that has been collated should highlight the site worthy of consideration as a potential biological heritage site. 

“We are aware that further surveys may be beneficial at the start of the bird breeding season and our volunteers are able to carry out more recordings next spring if necessary.”

In April last year, residents marched from Belthorn to Blackburn Town Hall to highlight their concerns.

Then in June, "The Big Ramble" attracted people of all ages who trekked around the fields and footpaths of Belthorn and Guide to create awareness of the wildlife and the countryside that would be affected by any development.

The petition comes as Blackburn with Darwen Council secured £20m of Levelling Up funding.

The money will be used to improve junction 5 of the M65 and transport links in the area around Haslingden Road, which it says will "significantly improving employment, housing, health and carbon reduction outcomes for residents and businesses".