COUNCILLORS rejected plans to build a housing development on a former pig farm after receiving almost 100 objections.

Members of Hyndburn Council's development control committee rejected the outline application for land at Elton Road, Belthorn. They heard 96 letters of objection were written by residents concerned about increased traffic, water and drainage supply, the effect on wildlife in the area, and access.

The plans, tentatively for nine houses, were submitted by Jim Booth and councillors later expressed concerns over how they should handle future applications for derelict country sites. They had visited the site after deferring a decision three weeks ago. The land was formerly used as a pig-raising unit, but had been a cotton mill in previous years.

Two previous applications to develop the site had been refused, one going to an appeal that upheld the council's decision.

Members turned down the latest application on the grounds that government guidance is for residential developments to be built on brownfield sites rather than greenfield sites.

Councillor Tim O'Kane, portfolio holder for environment and cleansing, said he was concerned that having been used as a cotton mill there could be contaminants in the land.

"The difficulty with this application is that it fails on the fact that adequate access hasn't been put forward and the drainage plan isn't there," he said. "But the dilemma is from an environmental health point of view and that's the contaminated land policy we have got.

"On the one side we are saying the last use of the land was agricultural but it's also acknowledged it used to be a cotton mill. I don't know how we can work round that."

Coun Wyn Frankland said: "This has been turned down on pretty solid policy reasons but it still worries me what's going to happen to this sort of site." Mr Booth could not be contacted today.