CHAOS is predicted by objectors to a race course and leisure scheme alongside the region's biggest woodland.

People in Boothstown fear their lives will be disrupted if blueprints for a new Manchester horse racing course on Boothstown and Astley's doorstep get the go-ahead from Salford Council planners.

Traffic chaos, plummeting home values and general disruption are predicted by objectors to the scheme to build a multi-million pound leisure complex and race course next to Botany Bay Wood.

Boothstown Residents' Association, Worsley Village Community Association and Worsley Civic Trust and Amenity Society have held extensive consultations attracting hundreds of locals concerned about leisure park plans.

Leisure park

Peel Holdings want to build a leisure park which would include a course for jumping and flat racing, an equestrian centre, an 18 hole golf course and club house across 2,000 acres of Worsley land.

Although their consultation period is still ongoing, residents' association Chairman Michael Howard is already certain they will be raising "serious concerns" when they report their findings to planning chiefs.

But the consultations found that while some residents were totally against the project, other residents were in favour of the idea.

Mr Howard said: "We are growing more concerned from a traffic point of view. We are concerned the proposals put forward do not make sense and will bring more problems to the area.

"When a race meeting is finishing in the afternoon up to 20,000 people will be trying to leave the area as well as people normally travelling at that time. I'm not a traffic expert but common sense tells me that is cannot be done."

Plans show the leisure park would be reached via three routes -- a new road from the Queen's junction on the East Lancashire Road, an entrance off Leigh Road for coaches and a new motorway spur coming off the M60 slip road at Junction 13 at Worsley. Another community worry is car parking.

Mr Howard said people were also concerned about such a large element of commercialisation being introduced on to Green Belt land.

Nobody was available for comment at Peel Holdings.

A public meeting will be held at St Mark's Church in Worsley on January 24 when Salford city council's planning officers will discuss the scheme.

A second meeting will be held at the Royal British Legion club in Victoria Street, Boothstown on January 28.