A WHITEFIELD resident is celebrating after plans to make a new entrance to a park were turned down.

Proposals were submitted to Bury planning committee to construct a new footpath and maintenance access to the public park surrounding the former Whitefield Town Hall.

But Eileen Turner, who lives opposite the site on Pinfold Lane, was concerned that plans put before Tuesday's meeting at Bury Town Hall would be highly intrusive, because people using the path would look directly into a window at the front of her home.

She told councillors at the meeting that she was also worried about the security of her home, because the footpath would be surrounded by large trees and people could watch the house and plan burglaries.

The committee shared Mrs Turner's concerns and were unhappy to hear that work had already started without planning permission.

The old town hall was bought by a private company in the late 1990s, and proposals to convert the building into a care home were passed with the condition that the owner provided access to the public park.

Large trees were felled and the ground dug up when work started on the footpath several months ago, but it was stopped by Bury Council when they realised the work did not have planning consent. However, the council itself then decided to apply for permission to construct the path for pedestrians and maintenance vehicles.

Councillors on the planning committee refused the application for security and privacy reasons, and suggested another entrance to the park could be found.

Mrs Turner is happy that the plans were rejected, but is convinced that this is not the end of the matter.

After the meeting, she said: "I am sure that the council will make another application, and I feel there are other options that haven't been considered."

A spokesperson for Bury Council was unavailable to comment.