A HOUSING estate could be built in Tottington. But first developers need an access road to the land!

Outline planning permission has been given to local developers Walshaw Estates to build around 30 houses on land off Sycamore Road.

But Tottington councillor David Higgin says a popular play area stands in the way and the applicants have to persuade Bury Council to bulldoze it to provide an approach road to the planned development.

Now Coun Higgin, a Tory, is accusing councillors in the all-powerful Labour cabinet of acting in secret after learning that they were proposing to get rid of the play area and sell the land.

He says locals should be consulted before the council's executive committee decides, behind closed doors, whether to go with the recommendations and sell the land. The decision will be made on Wednesday (October 31). Coun Higgin says approval would represent a huge U-turn for the council who fought the original outline housing plans and threw them out last summer even though the land was allocated for residential development. However, the decision was over-ruled at a public inquiry by a government inspector who said that no sound grounds were provided for the refusal of the application.

Now, Bury Council looks to cash in on the plan which, following residents' objections, they initially opposed. Residents said the new development would lead to an increase in traffic and also increase pressure on Tottington's infrastructure.

Coun Higgin is calling for the decision to be deferred until the public have been consulted.

Our reporter was unable to contact anyone from Walshaw Estates at the time of going to press.