A HAULAGE company has been given an autumn deadline to clean up a green belt site after Government inspectors dismissed a planning appeal.

Park Royal Haulage, which owns a site at Whinney Hill Tip, Altham Lane, Altham, has been ordered to stop work and remove all shutters and frames being stored and built without planning permission at the site.

The decision comes after members of Hyndburn Council refused planning permission for the work in October, 2002. Park Royal, based in Bury, appealed against the decision on the grounds that planning permission should be granted until the local plan was reviewed this year.

Operations by a tenant on the site were stopped but the inspectors, based in Bristol, refused the appeal because the remaining materials were detrimental to the overall look of the green belt area.

The firm now has until September to clean up and stop work from the site.

Coun David Myles, who represents the Altham ward, welcomed the decision and said it should stand as a warning to other firms.

He said: "Green field sites are there to be protected and protect them we will!"

Brent Clarkson, head of planning at Hyndburn Council, some tenants were working from the site at the start of 2002.

"They did not have planning permission, which is required because it is in green belt land. We asked them to move and they did not respond so we served a formal notice on them in October.

"Park Royal own the land, but they had let it to a third party to use. We served the notice on the owner of the land."

Park Royal did not wish to comment.