LANCASTER'S MP Hilton Dawson has thrown his weight behind plans to keep the district a green and pleasant land.

A consultation document called Choices for the North West is seeking local views on whether development on greenfield sites should be stopped or allowed to increase.

The North West Regional Assembly has set out five options for the region which will form the basis of planning for the next 25 years.

And Hilton's backing for an almost blanket ban on the development of greenfield sites has delighted environment campaigners who hope to scupper the controversial Lancaster South housing estate.

Explained Hilton: "The region's housing need should be soaked up by the large conurbations like Manchester and Liverpool, brownfield sites in urban areas and in places where there is a specific local need for low cost or rented housing." He added: "This consultation is very important and is a fantastic opportunity for local people to have their say. It will shape how the district is developed well into the next millennium and that's why I back option one, which says that there should be no further greenfield development in the North West."

A spokesman for the Council for the Protection of Rural England, Jonathan Sear, said it was great to have the support of the local MP, Dawson.

"The more that people say 'no' to greenfield development the better. At the moment a line of communities from Carlisle through Lancaster and Preston to Warrington are fighting massive housing developments. Developers press to be allowed to build housing on greenfield sites as this is more straightforward for them. It is essential that people in urban areas in need of investment and people in rural areas in need of protection speak up now. This is a document that no community group should ignore."

To make your views known to the regional assembly call them on 01942 737916.

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