A FIRM converting a disused Bury tip into a greenfield site say they are running out of time and money to complete the project.

The Environment Agency has stopped the work because of complaints about the smell coming from the site.

But the firm and local residents are calling for permission to be given for the final 30 per cent of the work to be finished.

Restoration specialists Quinns have been working on the 40-acre Gin Hall site, in Walmersley Road, for 11 months, and say they are just ten weeks away from converting the site into a field.

They had been granted an exemption on the site to improve the soil and restore it to its original quality.

But with most of the work complete, the Environment Agency removed the exemption almost two weeks ago, making it an offence for Quinns to continue working in the same way.

Managing director of Quinns, Bill Quinn, said: " It would only take us up to ten weeks to complete the work, and the residents would have a beautiful field to walk in or for their children to play in. The site was an absolute mess when we came along, and it still will be if we cant finish the work. No-one can use the site as it is. I have never walked away from a job, and I am determined to finish this one.

" But every hour and every day we spend here not working means the company is losing money, and we might have to walk away and leave the site as it is. If we spend more than another week here, the company will be crippled financially. The whole situation needs to be sorted out as soon as possible."

The Environment Agency and Bury Council say work on the site was stopped because of complaints about the smell from the material used there.

An Environment Agency spokeman said: " The current exemption has been removed because of public concerns about the smell at the site. For the contractors and the owners to continue, they would have to put measures in place to prevent the smell. If they do not do this, they can apply for a waste management licence, which will be judged on its merits."

A spokesman for Bury Council said: " It is complaints from local residents about the overpowering stench that prompted our involvement and then the removal of the exemption by the Environment Agency to prevent sewage waste being used on the site.

" We are aware that the company have a contract with United Utilities at Fleetwood to remove sewage waste from there and it was this material that they were using to level the site at Walmersley Road. Where they are not permitted under the exemption to use the sewage waste, they can complete the contract with other in-fill material."

However, Mr Quinn said the company was extracting a soil medium from the sewage waste to improve the quality of the soil.

He said: " We have been taking a soil medium from the sewage waste to restore the soil, but this is done at restoration projects across the country. Throughout the work, we have had deodorisers on the site to reduce the smell of the materials. The deodorisers broke down for a short period though, and it was then that some residents complained about the odour. I admit that it was a problem, but we have worked to contain the situation and it is no longer a problem."

Despite complaints to Bury Council, the majority of residents in Walmersley Road say they want the work to be completed, and will petition the council and the Environment Agency.