PEOPLE have had enough time to consider altered plans for the proposed Leigh Sports Village, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has been told.

Chris Maile, of the Campaign for Planning Sanity, has alleged that Wigan Council altered the proposals over Christmas "to reduce the ability of the public to make representations on a highly controversial and politically sensitive development".

He claimed people only had four days to respond to the altered plans put forward just before Christmas, and said they intended to pass on their views to Mr Prescott, who will give the final verdict on the scheme.

But Leigh MP Andy Burnham, who is a supporter of the project, dismissed Mr Maile's claims in a letter to Mr Prescott as "absolute nonsense".

He told Mr Prescott: "The council allowed more time than usual to respond because of the Christmas holiday period.

"It is precisely because of this effort to listen to local concerns that the plan commands overwhelming local support. I fully support the right of people in Leigh to express their views, but I feel that it is wrong for any organisation to incite objections to a proposal on a false premise."

Martin Kimber, Wigan's planning and development director, said: "I would urge anyone who wishes to comment to do so by writing to me."