COUNCILLORS have decided to visit Trickett's Memorial Ground in Waterfoot before deciding whether to sell part of the land to a council tenant.

An application to buy the land has been made by a resident of Thistlemount Avenue who has rented the site for many years.

The controversial proposal prompted many letters of objection, including one from a former worker of Henry Trickett's Gaghills Mill who gave part of his wage to buy the land in memory of the mill's workers who lost their lives in the world wars and a relative of the mill's founder.

Planning permission has already been granted to construct a conservatory on the land, but at the corporate policy committee the sale of land was recommended for refusal.

But at Rossendale Council meeting councillors decided to refer the decision to refuse back to committee and hold a site visit.

Coun Mollie Disley said: "I know there were a lot of objections to the scheme but this is a just a small piece of land next to Thistlemount Avenue which this gentleman has looked after for 60 years.

"If he had not bothered about it it would be a mess. It is called Trickett's Memorial Ground but it isn't part of the garden or memorial, obviously he is not going to build an extension on a piece of land that doesn't belong to him."

She successfully asked for the decision on the sale to be deferred to the next corporate policy committee on December 4.

Coun Margaret Talukdar agreed with a site visit saying it would help if councillors were fully aware of what the area of land was they were talking about and accused the press of being less than fair in reporting of the proposed sale.

Although engineering and planning committee chairman Coun Christopher Wadsworth agreed to the site visit he said he could not agree with the principle of selling land which was given to the council.

Coun Graham Pearson said: "It is my view that we should not be selling land that was given in trust.

"I have looked at this site and in conjunction with the site plan it is still part of Trickett's Memorial Ground and before we agree to a decision that might be wrong I agree we refer it back so we can take the chance to go and visit."