RESIDENTS marched to Nelson Town Hall to deliver 156 objection letters against plans to build hundreds of homes on scrub land.

Liberata have drawn up plans to build 200 new ‘high quality housing’ houses in Nelson on land which lies near Messenger Street, Windsor Street, Ash Tree Grove and Pinewood Drive.

But residents living nearby fear damage to wildlife, traffic congestion, parking issues and demand on local services would be too much.

Ash Tree Grove residents Paul Simcock and his wife Alison, 53, took to the streets with neighbours to gather the opinions of those living nearby.

Mr Simcock, 57, said his wife had managed to gain more than a 100 responses in a matter of days.

He said: “People are annoyed there are hundreds of Brownfield sites in and around Nelson which could be used for building on, yet they are not.

“People want to bring in a permanent moratorium, which would stop anyone building on top of the land.

“Hundreds of people walk across the land, its very easy to access for those who are elderly and want to walk through a rural area.

“My whole estate is against it as the main entrance into the new site would be through our road.

“The extra 200 or 300 cars going through there would mean the road would not cope.”

A paper petition was set up against the proposals which has seen more than 40 signatures slam the plans, which are the size of 10 football pitches.

Liberata originally submitted plans to Pendle Council for the site in October last year.

In a planning document a spokesman for Liberata said: “Despite concerns, it is considered that through a sensitively designed scheme, the proposed development will provide the optimal solution for the site and the surrounding area.

“A transport survey found that the development proposals were unlikely to give rise to any material concerns in respect of high capacity or highway safety.

“The design team feels strongly that these proposals can contribute positively to the area, retaining and enhancing existing green space and incorporating it into the wider green infrastructure of the scheme, while creating ecological corridors for wildlife though new tree and shrub planting to supplement existing vegetation on site.”

Pendle Council will make a decision on the plans at a future meeting.