RESIDENTS in Halton fear their village could be changed irrevocably if a business consortium which includes a major US corporation gets its way.

And they have called for a referendum of all villagers before plans for a housing and business park development on the banks of the Lune are given the go ahead.

A consortium of firms including US chemical giant, Great Lakes, want to build houses and industrial units on the site of the old Halton Mill which overlooks the Lune rapids.

The riverside location, some of which has been reclaimed by nature since the mill and chemical works closed, is classed as a brownfield site and is therefore viewed as potential development land.

But local people fear that at least 60 houses and a number of commercial units would destroy the character of the village, ruin a beauty spot and place too great a burden on local roads and amenities.

More than 80 letters of objection have been sent to the council which will discuss the plans on Monday.

Halton's councillor, Paul Woodruff, said: "It will put a lot of pressure on Denny Beck Bridge, it will put a lot of pressure on our little school and it will change the character of the village. But it could also bring back into use a contaminated site and replace a dilapidated textile works. It's very tricky and it will be very difficult to find a way forward that will suit everyone."

He added: "Any development needs to be done sympathetically and in keeping with the location. There's a strong lobby against these plans which do appear to be more about housing than jobs. My ideal would be to return the site to woodland but with all the commercial considerations I don't think that's going to happen. I just hope common sense prevails."

The situation has been complicated by the withdrawal from the consortium of a key player, Luneside Engineering. And, after 10 months of negotiations, the consortium is pressing for a quick decision fearing that Great Lakes may pull out of the scheme.

Planning consultant for the consortium, Brian Barden, has written to the council and said: "In short, the City Council has to decide whether it wishes to see things happen at Halton Mills or whether it does not."

A planning officer said: "This application raises some difficult and complicated issues."