A HYNDBURN councillor has welcomed the development of hundreds of new homes which will bring £300,000 to his ward.

The council's development services committee approved an outline application for up to 260 houses on the former Huncoat brickworks site at the corner of Lynwood Road and Yorkshire Street, Huncoat.

Earlier they had visited the site after residents voiced concerns about the proposed access to the site off the mini-roundabout in Station Road, which they said would restrict parking.

Replacement parking was proposed near the site but residents said this would be impractical and result in their vehicles being out of sight. But county council highway officials deemed the access satisfactory.

Among the benefits to Huncoat as part of a legal agreement with the developers, Landmatch, will be a contribution of £75,000 to the council for improvement of community facilities in the area; a contribution of £52,000 for a three metre wide cycleway with street lighting from the site to Bolton Avenue and £1,080 per house to improve the football pitches and play equipment on Bolton Avenue.

Huncoat councillor Dave Parkins said: "I welcome this development. It will mean a lot finance generally within the area itself, where we have had neglect for years. I congratulate the officers who secured the legal agreement. It's an excellent piece of work."

Conservative councillor for Baxenden Coun Jim Dickinson said he still wasn't convinced about the access.

"I still have reservations on a site of that proportion and the exit from the junction."