CAMPAIGNERS have lost their fight against a mammoth housing estate which will be built on their doorsteps.

South Ribble Borough Council has all but given planning permission for 290 houses to be built on the site of Manor House Farm, in Croston Road, Farington, despite desperate protests from locals who say the development will destroy the area.

The borough's development services committee agreed to delegate powers to the head of planning and engineering, who will grant permission for the project once several conditions imposed by the council have been agreed too.

Conditions include creating suitable links between the site and Croston Road, finding a new home for a colony of Banded Demoiselles, submitting landscaping proposals and promising to create a wide range of houses in different price brackets.

A survey will also be carried out on the site to evaluate the need for the excavation of a pre-historic settlement before building work can begin, while £100,000 will be given by the developer to subsidise a new bus route.

But for the ardent campaigners, who have been protesting for nearly a year about the project after being mobilised by borough councillor Mark Alcock.

He said: "This is a sad day for Farington. Another piece of open space vanishes, and it is the existing locals who will suffer."

Local resident Steve Urmston said: "We have been sold down the river. The council doesn't seem to care about our safety."

His wife, Leslie said: "We have had deaths on Croston Road before. Extra traffic will only make it worse."

Charmaine Ward added: "Cats get killed down here all the time. It is only a matter of time before children get hit too."

Coun Judith England, who also represents Farington, added: "The residents of Farington have been forgotten."

A spokesman for South Ribble Borough Council said: "Our hands are tied. If we were to oppose this development, the developer could appeal. If they won the appeal, we wouldn't be able to attach any conditions. We are making the best of a bad situation.

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