PLANS to turn a green space off Watery Lane, Darwen, into a hard-surface multi-play area have triggered complaints from residents.

They believe it will ruin the area and take away another green space.

But Lodgeside Community Association, which submitted the scheme, said the state of the water-logged area meant it was useless in the winter.

They stressed the development would only use a small part of the field but it would provide children with somewhere to play sports during the wetter months.

The application is for a hard-surface, enclosed multi-sport area where youngsters would be able to play a number of sports including basketball, football, cricket and netball.

Tracy Turnbull, secretary for the community association, said it would be at the furthest point away from houses and would not take away the whole of the open green field.

She said: "It will be a 26 metre by 15 metre area which is a very small part of a very large area.

"The field is completely waterlogged most of the year round. We had a lot of money to have it drained but it hasn't worked.

"What we are applying for will create an all-year-round area, totally in keeping with the rural surroundings and which will not be anything ridiculously high.

"People say it is a nice green area which it is, but it is not of any use. During winter it might as well not be there.

"We don't want to destroy the green area. We hope to create a garden area and we have already put benches on it for the elderly."

But some residents in nearby streets have said it is a bad idea and believe the current grassed area is sufficient.

One resident, who lives near the site but did not want to be named, begged the council not to take the area away from her children.

She said: "My children play on the field at Watery Lane on a regular basis. They take their own nets to place over the goal posts provided by the council or alternatively they take their cricket sets down there.

"There is nowhere else where they could play on a grassed area around here. These play areas are fast disappearing and before long children in residential areas won't know what it's like to have grass to play on. In letters to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, other residents referred to "the loss of yet more open green spaces in the town" and described the green space as "a well-used, well-liked area of land that doesn't need this development".

Chairman of the community association Hilary Corran said: "We don't want to lose all this green area either.

"We are losing so many green areas in Darwen to housing developments but this is something we are doing for the community after consulting them about what they would like to see there.

"Our newsletter explaining our ideas was sent to 900 households. It came about after children in the area said there was nothing to do."