Controversial plans for a £10 million primary school on a playing field in a leafy suburb of Bolton have been scrapped, the Manchester Evening News understands.
A widespread public outcry followed the announcement three months ago that a new academy school would be built on land adjacent to Church Road and Captains Clough Road, known as Moss Bank Park Playing Fields.
More than 200 residents attended a meeting In October at Church Road Primary School, just yards from the proposed site of the new building, protesting over plans.
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Local resident Nigel Bayliss, one of the leaders of the Save Moss Bank Park Playing Fields group, hailed the decision, describing the plan as 'stupid from day one'.
"My understanding is that the plan is dead in the water," he told the Manchester Evening News. "The council appear to have seen the light, that it was never the right site.
"Birth numbers in the area and the placement requirement in other local schools [Church Road Primary School and Johnson Fold Primary School] don't support the need for a new school.
"It's fantastic that the council appear to have listened to the groundswell of opposition to the plan and that common sense has prevailed.
"But it's difficult to believe how much money has been wasted by the council on traffic surveys and reports in its attempt to try to push this through."
Although Bolton council is yet to confirm officially that the school plan has been ditched, a leaflet distributed today on behalf of the three Lib Dem councillors representing Smithills claimed a victory for the residents.
However, fears that the green space may be vulnerable to development plans in the future have not gone away.
Bolton council has pushed back on an application by local residents and ward councillors to get the land designated as a 'village green' which would protect it from future development.
Nigel added: "I and the other residents want to know that the field is safe. If this isn't the case we could be having the same battle again in five years' time."
Councillor Roger Hayes, who has backed the residents' campaign and was instrumental in launching the bid to make the land a 'village green' admitted it was unlikely it would be successful.
But he said that in opposing the application, Bolton council has presented evidence which would negatively affect any future planning application to build on the land. A decision is imminent within the next month.
"It looks like we'll lose the village green bid," he said. "But the council has compiled 30 or 40 pages of information that would make getting any planning application for development extremely difficult."
