An appeal has been launched by a developer after plans to build 112 new homes on green belt land were rejected.

Morris Homes North Ltd previously applied for permission to build the residential dwellings on land to the north of Radcliffe Road, Darcy Lever.

The plans were first launched in October 2021 but in July this year the application was rejected by the council's planning committee.

A statement released at the time by officers said the home should not be built on green belt land.

It said: “The proposed development by virtue of the siting of part within the green belt represents inappropriate development within the green belt, and the very special circumstances provided by the applicant do not outweigh the harm caused to the purposes and openness of the green belt.”

The applicant wanted to build a mixture of one, three and four bedroom homes.

The plans included reformed access to Radcliffe Road and new roads on site serving the proposed homes.

There were also three new wildlife ponds as well as 240 new trees and 900 metres of hedgerow.

A statement released at the time of the original application said: “The development will create a sensitive and robust connection between the proposed and existing housing developments to neighbouring amenities and green belt land.

“The scheme will create a well-informed attractive neighbourhood, supporting pedestrian and cycle travel, in the vicinity of good bus links.

“Morris Homes have a proven track record of providing excellent quality aspirational housing supported by extensive landscaping and a commitment to design quality.

“This scheme exhibits these core values.”

At the time of the first application objections were made from 16 households citing concerns about the loss of green space land, lack of space on the road and lack of school places.

Some of the land is currently used for grazing horses.

Concerns were also raised that it could affect the possibility of plans to extend the Metrolink from Bury to Bolton.

However after the rejection, an appeal has been launched by Morris Homes.

A statement prepared as part of the appeal argues the development is acceptable and would have no impact on "openness".