HEALTH centre bosses, locked in a parking wrangle with a Bolton club, hope new talks will bring a prescription for peace.

Patients and staff were incensed when the car park next to the practice was chained off by its owners, Tonge Ward Labour Club.

There were complaints that sick people using Tonge Moor Health Centre had nowhere to park, with some even incurring fines for stopping on double yellow lines.

Now stop-start negotiations between the two sides have resumed and the Labour club has removed the barrier while discussions continue.

Cllr Nicholas Peel said: "This is an act of goodwill on behalf of the club. "It was quite a fruitful meeting. We made a lot of progress and drew up a plan of action."

Kalina Carey, manager for Dr Hardman and Partners, the main practice at the health centre, said: "We are all very pleased at the progress and at last it looks as if we have some communications going.

"I can't go into specific detail but things were left in a very amicable manner."

Trustees of the Ainsworth Lane club and managers of the health centre in Thicketford Road have been in dispute since the Labour club relocated a few yards from its original site.

Derelict land left over after the old club's demolition had been due to become a car park.

But the trustees were left short of money because the cost of building the club was much greater than expected.

They want the health centre, and Bolton social services -- which runs the nearby Thicketford Road old people's home - each to contribute a third of the car park costs.

Health centre staff have claimed they had been promised they would be allowed to park free of charge.

The health centre had been using the Labour club's car park for 20 years without paying a charge.

Further talks between are expected to take place soon.