AN old brickworks in Huncoat could become a housing estate if planning permission is granted tonight.

Elite Homes has applied to Hyndburn Council for permission to build 65 houses and apartments, including two blocks of three-and-a-half storey flats, on the site of the old Huncoat brickworks, off Lynwood Road.

Planning permission already exists for development of part of the site and if permission is given tonight for the new scheme, a total of 139 houses would be built.

A report to the planning committee meeting says much of the site has been previously used, either as a reservoir or the Perseverance Cotton Mill. It adds the site has now been decontaminated in preparation for new building.

A mixture of houses will be built on the site, including two blocks of three-and-a-half storey flats at one end, where the land is at its lowest. Access to the site will be via Station Road.

Originally, the plans included 68 houses, but three were removed after talks with officers over highway safety.

Chief planning officer Brendan Lyons said: "This development will be the final stage of the removal and transformation of this brownfield site.

"The developer will also fund a cycle link through the site from Station Road to Bolton Avenue. The good quality housing will improve the area."

Two letters of objections have been received by councillors, which claim the site will overshadow Huncoat and attract families to the area, which will destroy the 'serenity' of the village.

Because planning permission was granted for part of the site last year, it is not affected by the moratorium on housing development currently imposed in Hyndburn. Permission exists across the borough for 900 new homes to be built, way in excess of the 500 originally intended by the council.

The fear is that developers are opting to build new houses on cleared sites rather than working on town centre sites in Accrington, where there is a massive over supply of housing.

Council bosses do not want anything to jeopardise the success of the recently approved Pathfinder scheme, which will used Government money to regenerate rundown areas.