NEWS that the Tarmac company has resurrected plans to reopen an old cement works in Colne has angered Pendle MP Gordon Prentice.

He is backing local residents who are fighting the proposal to start work again at the plant in Knotts Lane, which shut five years ago.

"I have asked the council for a note on the legal powers open to it to resist this totally inappropriate land use," said Mr Prentice. "I want the council to stand firm behind local people and reject Tarmac's planning application."

He added: "I want to see Tarmac go to an industrial site in the borough where they can't do any harm. Knotts Lane is a residential area and the cement works is a totally inappropriate use."

Local councillors have already backed campaigners fighting to keep the controversial plant shut. Residents claim lorries travelling up and down steep Knotts Lane will cause a danger and spread dust and dirt outside their homes.

But Tarmac Quarry Products said the new plans involved a much smaller-scale operation and promised there would be improvements to the site.

The scheme to reopen the plant is due to go before Pendle Council's Colne area committee on July 4. The cement works site has been targeted by vandals, who have sprayed slogans such as 'Do Not Open This Site' on a hut.

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