AN 18-month campaign to create a children’s games area in the Marsden area of Nelson has moved a step closer.

A planning application to create a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) on land near the community centre in Marsden Hall Road North has been submitted.

Last November, councillors on the Nelson Area Committee promised to get the MUGA up and running by April.

Campaigners have been calling for a MUGA since September 2011 but the scheme has been hit by delays and bureaucracy.

A planning application for a MUGA on the residents’ preferred site near to Marsden Park was rejected last summer.

And in September last year, 221 residents signed a petition calling for the scheme to go ahead on the land near to the community centre.

It is expected a decision on the planning application will be made in early March.