WESTHOUGHTON town council is to think again before deciding whether to hold a referendum on the controversial Lee Hall planning application.

Planning committee councillors last night deferred a decision until a full council meeting on March 22.

The application to build 1,100 homes at Lee Hall is set to go before Bolton's planning committee on April 22.

But councillors usually have a site visit on controversial planning applications and delay a decision until their next meeting.

Lib Dem town councillor David Wilkinson believes that the ideal time to ask local people whether they want more development in the town is on local election day, May 6.

Notorious

But Labour town council leader Cllr Mrs Linda Thomas said she was not convinced a referendum is the right way to gauge opinion.

"There is a notorious low turn out at local elections and I fear that, if there was, it could be used by the developer's barrister against us," she said.

"The best way to put local opinion across would be a standard letter in all shops and public places which people could sign."

But Cllr Wilkinson hit back: "The Labour group is fudging this. A referendum would be a legitimate democratic mandate for opposing Lee Hall."

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