RESIDENTS have fenced off a car park in Astley Bridge in a bid to halt plans to create a mosque in the area.

Planning permission for the place of worship in Ramsay Street was passed by Bolton Council last month.

But in doing so, it laid down a condition that a car park had to be created for three to four vehicles on land next to the proposed mosque.

That land is not yet owned by the project's bidder, the Massid E Salam and Madrassa Trust, although it is currently working on taking possession of the land in conjunction with Bromley Cross-based chartered town planning consultant Frank Whittaker.

But residents are also making an 11th hour bid to stop the mosque by taking possession of the land themselves.

Their intention was announced shortly after neighbours placed a fence around the car park to prevent the land being developed. The planning permission had stated that the Trust had just four months in which to build a car park there for general public use.

And ripping the fence down could be a criminal offence.

It effectively means the Trust may not be able to create the mosque because it cannot fulfil all of the conditions of the planning permission.

Trust spokesman Imtiaz Ibrahim said: "The residents have put up the fence illegally on land they do not own.

"We can't do anything until we get the rights to the land but we are not angry.

"We are not causing a problem in the area and never have done. All we want is to resolve the situation in the best way possible.

"The car park is not really needed anyway because the mosque users will travel on foot but we appreciate it's a planning requirement." Sixty people sent objection letters to Bolton Council's planning department after hearing of the proposal.

Home owners felt the plan to extend the use of the building from a madrassa -- a place of learning -- to an adult prayer centre would cause an extra build-up of traffic around Ramsay Street.

Astley Bridge councillor Stuart Lever said: "It's a tricky situation for both sides. As things stand, the Trust cannot begin to create the mosque because all of the planning permission conditions cannot be legally fulfilled.

"The land currently has no title. To gain it, a resident will have to prove they have used the land for more than 12 years which for many in the area would not be difficult."

One resident, Edna Preston, aged 85, said: "The reason for the fence is to give us some time. In the 60 years that I have lived here the land has been used by the residents so I assume we would have a claim on it."