CAMPAIGNERS in Earby have lost their fight to stop playing fields being sold off for housing.

Pendle's top councillors have agreed to sell land at Bawhead Road and Bailey Street to McDermott Developments Ltd for £3.6million. Cash from the sale will be used to fund a multi-use games area, improve public transport, cycle links, traffic calming, CCTV and flood alleviation work.

Residents have been locked in a bitter battle with the council over its decision to sell the land since the authority gave itself planning permission for 50 houses last August. The sale comes after solicitors confirmed there was not a covenant on the land to protect it from development.

Making a last ditch attempt to sway the Executive Committee, Coun Christ Tennant said: "I would urge members of the executive not to go ahead with the sale, though I know having studied the details of the planning file it will go ahead.

"The whole development has been skewed by the impending moritorium with the level of planning in progress. If that information had been realised, I don't think we would be here now."

But executive councillors pressed ahead with the sale claiming it would benefit Earby and hard choices had to be made.

They said the risk of flooding would be no greater than it is now.

Council leader Coun Alan Davies said: "The general point we have got to accept is that we can only continue our capital projects by realising the assets that we've got and that has been the case for a significant number of years."

Coun David Whipp said: "Councillor Tennant wants investment in Earby, quite rightly. I want investment in Earby.

"Nobody wants to do these things but if we want the investment, we've got to be brave enough to go through with it."