ANY radioactive waste dumped in mineshafts near a controversial development site is more than a kilometre away from any potential building work, a senior councillor has stated.

Blackburn with Darwen's regeneration boss Cllr Phil Riley said it was buried in Bye Pit in neighbouring Hyndburn and not under 94 acres of countryside near the M65's Junction 5 his borough had allocated for employment use in its draft Local Plan.

He told West Pennine Conservative Cllr Neil Slater: "An extensive Preliminary Risk Assessment has been completed, including consideration of whether the risks resulting from the historical disposal of low level radioactive waste in an old mineshaft known as Bye Pit are likely to be sufficiently low so as to justify allocation of the site.

"At this point, the council is satisfied that any risks posed by the historic nuclear waste deposits at Bye Pit in Hyndburn are sufficiently low for this site to be retained as a strategic employment land allocation in the new Local Plan.

"It is important to stress that Bye Pit is over one kilometre to the south-east of the proposed development site, within the borough of Hyndburn."

Cllr Neil Slater, who questioned Cllr Riley on the issue, and his wife Cllr Julie Slater, who has led the campaign against the commercial development of the green belt land between Belthorn and Guide, remain concerned and are demanding core drilling on the site to check for radioactivity in the soil and water basin below it.

Cllr Julie Slater said: "This does not deal with our concerns or those of our residents.

"Cllr Riley appears to be trying to pass the buck to Hyndburn Council rather than address our genuine fears.

"We need core drilling on the site."

She, her husband and local householders believe that radioactive waste was dumped down old mineshafts in and around the development site in the 1950s.

Cllr Riley said: "Informed by the findings of the preliminary risk assessment, the site-specific policy will require further detailed assessments and a site-specific remediation strategy prior to the granting of any planning permission. It is also worth noting that relevant national agencies, including the Environment Agency and Coal Authority, would again be consulted at the planning application stage
"The council would welcome any new evidence to consider as part of the final phase of public consultation on the Local Plan."

Hyndburn Council leader Cllr Miles Parkinson said: "Any concerns from the relevant authorities would be dealt with by the government inspector assessing Blackburn with Darwen Council's Local Plan or at the planning application stage."