CLEVELEYS residents have stepped up their fight against plans for housing on an area of green land.

More than 400 people packed the Frank Townend Centre for a public meeting to listen to objections raised by members of the Holiday Association of Cleveleys to Wyre Borough Council's local plan.

The plan details that part of the area south of Jubilee Gardens should be given over for much-needed low-cost housing but residents want to see it retained for leisure development as it was first intended.

And the feeling is that strong that the association ran out of official objection forms.

Publicity officer Eddie Yates told the Citizen: "Cleveleys is a built-up area west of the tram tracks apart from this one little green area.

"It was bought by Wyre Borough Council as an extension to Jubilee Gardens to be used for leisure but they never seem to have enough money to develop it.

"Now the council wants to build low-cost housing on it. Half the area will be left as grass but if anyone came along in the future and wanted to put a leisure development on it, the new residents are bound to object.

"There is nowhere for the children to play football, cricket etc, so they play on the bowling greens and the pitch and putt which is ruining them."

He added: "We have always been fair with Wyre Borough Council and bent over backwards to go with them but it comes down to the fact that there is no investment on our seafront.

"All the money seems to go to Fleetwood and Over Wyre."

Cleveleys Councillor Tony Condron responded by saying: "We need land for housing. We have a waiting list of 1,800 people for houses in Wyre.

"It should be an asset on that front rather than a drab piece of land that it has been for many years."

The Association will put its case and represent the views of the residents before an independent inspector at a public inquiry on September 17.

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