COUNCILLORS have voted not to sell off parkland needed for a new super school by just one vote.

Burnley Council last night passed a motion by former mayor and Liberal Democrat leader Coun Gordon Birtwistle calling on the authority to refuse a county council request to use part of Towneley Park as part of the massive Building Schools for the Future Programme (BSF).

In a heated debate, members voted in favour of recommending the council's executive not to sell two strips of land on Lower Towneley Playing fields by just one vote, and after two rounds of voting.

After the first round the votes were tied at 15 for and against, but the mayor, Coun Roger Frost who when he took office said he would only use his ballot in key votes sided with the motion in the second round.

However, despite the victory the authority's ruling Labour decision making executive can still sell the land.

As part of the £250million overhaul of secondary education in Burnley and Nelson, Lancashire County Council (LCC) wants to replace Towneley High with the 1,050 place Unity College on the playing fields. The existing school would be turned into parkland.

However, the proposals have caused uproar with thousands of residents against the plans.

Coun Birtwistle last night said he attended a public meeting several weeks ago where he claimed Coun Caddy said the majority of his group were against the location of the new school.

He said if the authority backed the motion raised because of flooding and traffic concerns and refused to sell the land, LCC would have to serve a compulsory purchase order on the land which would let residents have their day at a public inquiry.

He added: "We can only recommend the executive not to sell it, we can't instruct them.

"The executive take on board a fearful problem. They have been removed once, they can be removed again."

However, council leader, Coun Caddy hit back saying the authority had no cash to fund a public inquiry and he wanted to see the legal and financial implications of the matter being called in.

He said: "It would this council and the county council tens of thousands of pounds for a public inquiry..

"It is money we do not have in our budget." Unison steward and resident Linda White said the issue could lose councillors votes at the May elections.

She added: "Nothing short of a bomb blowing up Burnley would stop BSF. Anyone saying otherwise is misinformed.

"The only way we can stop the school is by stopping it being built on a contested site.

"There would be no bomb, no end of the world or the end of BSF."