PENSIONERS are threatening to cut off a small housing estate after a long-running row with the builders.

Members of Westhoughton Pensioners' Club claim promises to carry out improvements in exchange for use of a small plot of their land have been broken.

Now they are threatening to take back the land which forms part of the roadway at newly-built Brampton Close, Westhoughton.

"We are thinking of putting our fence back up," said club secretary Brenda Rideout.

"If we did that nobody would be able to get to the houses. But it is still our land - we still have the deeds - and we are very upset."

Developers W & C Hill Construction of Rochdale won planning permission to develop the former Westhoughton cinema site to the rear of Church Street, in September, 1994.

Mrs Rideout claims the firm promised the club a car park, a footpath with handrail and a new garage if she allowed the company to build part of the roadway and pavement on a piece of the club's land which housed a rented garage.

But, although the scheme was started, the pensioners say they are still waiting for it to be finished about a year after the builders moved out of Brampton Close.

Brian Riley, who rented the original garage on the site, is taking the matter to court and the pensioners' are looking into reclaiming their land.

Mrs Rideout insists the land was never sold and said:. "Every time we contact them they make excuses. They just do not care."

Company boss Warren Hill told the BEN he had "no recollection" of any deal with the pensioners.

He said: "I know nothing about this. We just built the houses."

Mr Hill suggested Mrs Rideout might have had an informal chat with a site manager but said his company worked to specifications provided by an agent for their client, a London based housing association.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.