DESIGNS for a housing development granted planning permission on a section of the borough's greenbelt are under consideration by the town hall.

Developers Bellway have outlined its plans to build more than 150 homes at Parr Bridge Works near Tyldesley.

The scheme will see recycling firm Maxilead Metals vacate the site and move to a new location in nearby Atherton.

Both bids were granted planning approval earlier this year but had been referred to central government.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said the Secretary of State has decided not to call in the Parr Bridge Works decision and the town hall has set a target decision date of early February for the reserved matters application.

The proposals for Maxilead’s new site – on land north of Chanters Industrial Estate in Atherton – are still under consideration by the Secretary of State, the town hall has said.

The reserved matters application applies to only the residential element of the overall scheme for the Mosley Common Road site – which also includes community and retail development and covers both green and brown belt land.

A document submitted to the town hall reads:  “Should reserved matters planning permission be granted without delay, this will enable Bellway to start preparing the site to facilitate this important first phase and bring about confidence to facilitate the development of the further phases across the wider site.”

Designs for 154 homes on the site south of the Leigh Guided Busway have been submitted including access from Mosley Common Road. A range of three and four bedroom houses are included.

In January, when the planning committee granted the outline approval, councillors heard half the development involves use of green belt land in addition to building on Maxilead’s old site and the adjacent Worsley Business Park.

Members voiced concerns about the development of greenbelt but a majority voted to approve having been informed by officers it was "very special circumstances".

The officers’ reasoning for their recommendations stated: “The degree of harm to the greenbelt has been assessed as being relatively small and is set against the benefits of safeguarding the employment generated by the Maxilead business, the benefits of relocating a source of disamenity from what has become a predominantly residential area, and the contribution of the development to the borough’s housing land supply in a sustainable location.”