FYLDE councillors have given the go-ahead to a controversial land sell off at a St Annes park.

Fylde Council's newly formed executive committee yesterday approved a £1.75 million Heritage Lottery Funding bid for Ashton Gardens, which the council claims is dependent on the sale of part of the park, on which the run-down Ashton Institute currently stands.

The council says it must raise £250,000 through the sale to be in with a chance of winning its 'matched' lottery funding bid.

But Fred Moor, chairman of the Supporters of Ashton Gardens (SOAG) pressure group, had sent a four-page letter to the committee ahead of the meeting, setting out 'valid reasons' to avoid selling the land.

"Mr Moor's letter to the councillors points out anomalies in the planning and legal aspects of the proposed sale, cites expert opinions on the proposed developments and offers a number of funding options that could be taken into account," said Jon Harrison, SOAG's honorary secretary.

He said Fylde Mayor, Cllr Trevor Fiddler, had 'taken great pains' to listen to SOAG's views on the plans at a recent meeting, prompting the group to press again for the council to look into other ways of raising the £250,000. And SOAG also accused the council's Ashton Gardens task group of 'breaking off diplomatic relations' - understood to be another reason for Mr Moor's letter.

A council spokesman confirmed the executive committee had considered public responses to the planned sale - including more than 3,000 protest letters collected by SOAG.

Cllr John Coombes, council leader, said: "Four years have passed since the council made a decision to dispose of this land and we re-advertised our intentions to encourage local people to let us know their current thoughts on the issue."

"We received another petition from the Supporters of Ashton Gardens along with a series of standard letters that had been distributed by the pressure group. There was also a number of individual letters. Each of these has been noted and analysed, and the executive committee will

take this information into consideration when deciding the way forward."

The committee was also considering a newly published report, from Chester based architectural consultants Donald Insall, recommending that the council progress with the first stage of its lottery bid.

The report also recommends replacing one plaque on the park's war memorial with new designs, and resiting the Ashton Institute at the St George's Road entrance.