DEVELOPERS are set to do battle with the government again over fields left derelict for 13 years.

Since being locked up in 1994, the Lucas sports ground, Colne Road, Reedley, has become overgrown, attracting unauthorised motor-cycles and other anti-social behaviour.

Proposals for 43 houses, six two-bedroomed apartments, cricket and football pitches, along with a nursery, offices, medical surgery and shop are set to be approved by Pendle Council's Brierf-ield and Reedley Comm-ittee on Tuesday night.

But the latest planning application for the site will have to go before the government because of Pendle's 15 year moratorium on house building in the borough.

An application in 2003 to develop half the land for housing and the other half for community sports, was vetoed by the government in January 2005 because Pendle is classed as having an "over-supply" of hous-ing.

The East Lancashire Primary Care Trust, government regener-ation scheme Elevate and Sport England have all supported the proposal.

Councillor Frank Wren, who represents Brierfield, said this, along with the new community health facilities, could help sway Government Office for the North West in favour.

He said: "This land has been a blot on the landscape in Reedley for far too long and I don't know how the residents have been able to live with it all this time.

"When those sports fields closed the people of Reedley got nothing to replace them, and that's very, very unfair.

"The moratorium has stopped a lot of really good-quality planning applications going through and we are just hoping that good sense prevails here because it's a site that is being totally wasted.

"We have been in talks with all the right people and everything's look-ing good so far."