DETERMINED bosses will tonight make another attempt to win permission to create a £1.5 million crematorium in Radcliffe.

And planning chiefs have recommended an outline application be granted unconditional approval, even though councillors had already The news has shocked residents who have been fighting against the proposed development for the past five years.

One of them, Phil Holt of Greenbank Road, said: "It's ridiculous. The whole matter is a real dog's breakfast. It's been rejected twice yet they keep trying to wear us down."

Bury Council chiefs granted outline planning permission for a crematorium in Radcliffe in 1997 and gave the 999-year lease of the land, along with outline planning permission, to global funeral firm Service Corporation International (SCI), known today as the Crematorium Company.

The agreed site was on agricultural land to the north east of Radcliffe's present cemetery. It is within the Green Belt and adjoins a site of biological importance.

Residents were fiercely opposed to the scheme as they feared such consequences as traffic and congestion increasing on the approach roads and people being emotionally affected by seeing funeral processions going by.

SCI had until March 2000 to submit applications for reserved matters, such as the design of the proposed crematorium, but failed to do so.

Councillors on the planning committee rejected SCI's application last September, much to the delight of residents.

Undeterred, the company applied in January to extend the period for the submission of reserved matters. Once again councillors refused, prompting the Crematorium Company to call for a public inquiry.

Tonight, the company will re-submit the extended period application.

Mr Holt said: "Bury Council made a huge mistake in granting themselves outline permission for the crematorium in the first place. The decision should have been made by a regional, unbiased body which did not stand to benefit from the decision. The council then compounded the issue by awarding the lease of the land to SCI, complete with the outline planning permission.

"The company's point is that they were given outline permission by the very council which then rejected their full application. I suspect the council officials are worried about the way it has all blown up in their face."

He added: "The councillors who vote on planning matters quite rightly voted against the crematorium when they realised the residents' concerns were valid and we hope they do so again tonight.

"We are not being callous and uncaring about this, we just want our quality of life maintaining."