THE controversial plan for a hostel for the homeless in Bury has been scrapped because of a public outcry.

Manchester Methodist Housing has withdrawn its application to develop a plot of land on Baron Street, blaming local hostility.

But the association is now "considering potential options" to site a similar scheme elsewhere in the borough.

Mr Peter Bojar, the company's regeneration manager, told the Bury Times: "I have never come across hostility from local people on this level. We know when we have been beaten and realise when people won't listen to us."

He said the association had no choice but to pull out to protect the clients that would be cared for in the hostel.

"It is very sad that we have had to make this decision. It is a big blow for the homeless people of Bury who need a facility like this.

"But we could not house them in an area where feelings are running so high. These people would be quick to point the finger at them with or without proof if something happened," said Mr Bojar. Planning bosses deferred a decision on the application, which was recommended for approval, at the recent planning control sub-committee to allow a wider consultation with residents.

The applicants had proposed to develop an 18-bed direct access hostel with ancillary facilities and a block of eight one-bedroomed flats.

Jubilant residents called the latest announcement a victory for people power.

One leading campaigner said: "I can't believe it. It is brilliant news."

The mother-of-two insisted the protesters were not against the principle of a hostel for the homeless but said the Baron Street site, in the middle of a quiet residential area surrounded by schools, was "the worst possible location".

Reassurances that the facility would not house sex offenders and that all referrals to the hostel would undergo stringent checks, including those by the police, did not allay the fears of objectors. They feared the hostel would bring "problem" people into the area.

"My first and only priority is for the safety of my children who would have to walk past the hostel to get to school," said the campaigner.

Mr Bojar concluded: "Our client group are those who have hit hard times and not drug addicts or sex offenders. They are low risk and need help to get back into the community. But maybe the local feeling and perception we have experienced in this area is endemic in society as a whole."