Residents have spoken out against the EG group over amendments to plans to build a service station at the end of the M65.

The Greenfield Road Forum say that they are disappointed with what they say has been 'a false commitment from EG Group to address their concerns.'

The proposed development, next to Whitewalls Drive in Colne, has angered residents who say the service station is ‘unnecessary and not beneficial’ and are concerned about an increase in traffic levels.

The forum, which has said they are open to speaking with the EG Group, said a representative for the company visited residents in an unexpected door-to-door discussion.

The chair of Greenfield Road Forum explained the community is against the development due to its scale and inevitable impact but were willing to discuss compromises in a bid to reach an amicable agreement.

Chair of the forum, John Rivett, said “The EG rep was very friendly and confident we could reach such an agreement.

"We are a very amenable group and I welcomed the EG rep into my home despite the horrific proposals to destroy our neighbourhood.

"EG said they wanted to work with us and weren’t happy that we were so upset.

"After extensive and promising negotiations everything collapsed."

They compiled an agreed list of concessions representing the residents’ key concerns, which the forum claims included the omission of one of the planned industrial units and a plan in place to offset additional carbon emissions with tree protection and planting improvements.

Further to the discussions, the EG Group presented amended plans which the forum say show a 'very minimal change', while claiming that the EG’s representative said 'most of the requests could not be considered due to significant money spent purchasing the land'.

All three units are set to go ahead however one of them has been reduced in size by 1,000 square feet.

An access road had been moved as requested which should avoid tree felling of mature trees.

Alex Kenwright, Development Projects Director for Property at EG Group, said: "Following conversations with local residents, EG Group redesigned and resubmitted its planning application, including about a 10 per cent reduction in the size of one of the proposed commercial units after concerns were raised of its close proximity to residential units and a nature reserve.

"We have proposed to move the commercial units considerably from the boundary and have added a substantial amount of landscaping.

"This will add more trees to the approximately 230 that we were already intending to plant on the site.

"The development is designed to respect the existing secluded nature of Greenfield Road, and importantly, it improves the offsite highway situation and is fully supported by Lancashire County Council’s highways team.

"Based on the planning process and feedback received, we believe we have found an acceptable design solution and are hopeful that the council and local residents will support our application to develop a site for which consent for development has previously been approved.

"We will continue to listen and work constructively with all stakeholders around this potential scheme."