CONTROVERSIAL plans to transform part of Rakehead Recreation Ground into a car park for Burnley General Hospital are due to get the green light next week.

Councillors are being asked to approve, in principle, the sale of part of the recreation ground to create extra parking spaces around the hospital, chronically short of parking space.

Burnley Health Care NHS Trust wants to pull down the children's play area and turn it into a 90-space car park. However, money from the sale of the land to the hospital would be used to create a new play area and keep some of the grassed area.

A report to Burnley council's executive, which will discuss the proposals on Tuesday, says the sale would raise around £100,000 which could be spent on improving the rest of the recreation ground.

Coun Colette Bailey, the council's executive member for leisure, said: "By doing this we will be able to use a currently unusable piece of land. We will also be upgrading the play area for the benefit of the community."

Simon Goff, the council's head of green space and amenities, said: "The money would allow us to install a new playground. The existing one was installed in 1988 and although it was partially refurbished in 1997 the equipment suffers from corrosion and will need replacing soon.

"The money would also pay for asphalting of the ball court to provide a better playing surface and for other improvements such as seating, tree planting and improving the drainage of the grassed area.

However residents are objecting to the plans.

Lanehead ward councillor Martin Smith said: "The objections are not to the work being done but to the hospital buying the land. The space that they are losing won't be that great but there is a mistrust from residents who lost half of the land around 20 years ago when the hospital bought it to build Rakehead Rehabilitation Unit. They want the hospital to keep its hands off the land but on the other hand the hospital has massive problems with car parking."

The plans include keeping a grassed area, putting in new drainage, a new playground, a new fence, re-surfacing the all-weather pitch, creating basketball courts, a seating area and planting trees.

Joe Peers, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust's head of estates, said: "We understand and empathise with residents.

"However, we do face an ever-growing problem of insufficient parking places."

The council executive is recommended to agree to the sale of the play area and car park, subject to planning approval.