THE sale of council-owned land has stalled as Kearsley councillors demand some of the proceeds are given back to the town.

The former Alderbank care home site was set to be sold for £350,000 to PSP Bolton with plans in place to build 33 houses at the site.

But Cllr Paul Heslop asked the deputy leader to reconsider his decision at a scrutiny meeting this week.

He said: "Kearsley has been stripped of all of its assets. Any services that were in Kearsley have gone. There is now nothing left. The town hall, the civic building the library – they’ve all gone. And the land that they were on has now all been sold.

"This unrelenting asset stripping of Kearsley, which always means that Kearsley loses and Bolton wins, is now being challenged. And that is what we’ll continue to challenge in my party.

“This is one strip of land now but after that, Kearsley’s gone. Nothing’s left. You’ve had the lot."

The Farnworth and Kearsley First councillor questioned whether the price is high enough and argued an "appropriate" portion of the sale proceeds should be given to the town.

He referred back to the deputy leader's decision to "compensate" Horwich with a £100,000 from the half a million pound sale of Pickup's Field to Bolton At Home which wants to build 48 houses at the site.

Labour councillor Nick Peel described the amount of money as "arbitrary".

Cllr Martyn Cox, who has the final say on the matter, explained that his decision to give part of the capital receipt of the Pickup's Field sale to the town was because it meant Horwich would lose a sporting facility.

He added: “The decision put in front of me was a piece of land that was owned by the council that the planning committee had given consent for 30-odd affordable properties. I think it would have been utterly irresponsible for me to say, forget it. Let’s go out to the highest bidder."

The decision has been referred back to the deputy leader for reconsideration.