WINWICK Parish Council has set aside £2,500 to fight plans for a rail freight terminal.

Councillors have earmarked the cash to help challenge Astral Development's vision for the former Parkside Colliery site in nearby Newton-le-Willows.

Astral wants to turn the former coalmine into one of Europe's biggest rail freight interchanges, creating up to 10,000 jobs.

But the parish council believes the loss of green belt and implications on traffic and noise in Winwick is unacceptable and it has donated the money to the Parkside Action Group (PAG).

Chris Haggett, council finance officer, explained that the money comes from a kitty designated for fighting planning applications that threaten the village.

He said: "We fought the motorway services at Junction 22 successfully, one set of plans back in the mid-1990s and another three or four years ago.

"Instead of fighting this ourselves we joined forces with the PAG and pooled our resources.

"We think the vast majority of people in Winwick are totally opposed to this development."

Parish councillor Alan Smith attends PAG meetings on behalf of the council.

And the decision to help fund legal action came after consultation with residents.

Les Higgins, council clerk, said: "We've asked people for feedback and we've not had anybody come back to us saying they support Parkside."