AN AREA of land between Nelson and Colne earmarked for housing could be turned into a nature reserve.

Pendle Council had listed part of Gib Hill as suitable for housing but the decision was questioned in an inquiry into the ecological value of the land.

The inspector was satisfied that the land could be built on but councillors will next week debate whether to classify it as a nature reserve.

That would not rule out future housing on the site but the matter would only be reviewed if there were any 'material changes in circumstances'.

Azhar Ali, from protest group Residents Against Gib Hill Exploitation (RAGE) said: “It is not exactly what we wanted, but we will have to speak to residents to see what they think.

“We wanted a full block on building housing on the land in the future, but this falls short on that and leaves the way open for future housing.”

The site is home to a range of wildlife including wild deer, owls and bats.

Neil Watson, planning and building control manager for Pendle Council, said in a report: “The fields at Gib Hill are mostly for grazing but there are some trees which have been planted in phases by Pendle Borough Council with Forestry Commission grant assistance.

“There are two public footpaths which cross the wider land referred to as Gib Hill.

“The land had, until the outbreak of foot and mouth, been tenanted for agricultural purposes.

“The agricultural practices had produced the conditions in which some of the plant species which are present, mainly in the hedgegrows, grew and which led to the designation as a Biological Heritage Site.”

Gib Hill is situated above Fisher More School and below the Iron Age fort at Castercliffe.

In 2005 the council said the land was worth around £20million, while campaigners also fought plans to build East Lancashire’s £35million mental health hospital on the site in 2007.