PROTESTORS voiced strong opposition on Monday to plans to set up a 24-hour, 365- days-a-year transport depot in the heart of Winsford.

Angry resident Richard Bennett, of Weaver Street, handed over an 85-signature petition to Vale Royal Borough Council from residents living in streets around the Phoenix House site in Clough Road.

The residents are furious at a proposal from Cheshire County Council to buy the site from the borough council and turn it into a depot that could employ 176 people and act as a base for highways vehicles, trucks, gritters, and schools and library vehicles.

However, county officer Ian Gould says the sale depends on councillors voting to abolish a restriction that currently limits use of the depot from 7.30am to 5pm on Mondays to Fridays - a vote that will be taken by Cheshire County Council's own development regulatory committee.

County councillor Tony Hooton admitted that the legal situation was a difficult one for Cheshire County Council and said: "The county council was not sure where to apply for planning permission - whether to the borough or to itself.

"So it had a legal ruling on the issue and the ruling is that any planning authority that wants planning permission has to apply to itself."

The restrictions were put in place in 1999 to "safeguard the amenities of nearby residents' properties", but Richard Bennett thinks that the borough council stands to make hundreds of thousands of pounds if the sale goes ahead.

He says residents believe the depot would significantly detract from their quality of life with noise and traffic levels set to increase as well as unsightly new lighting columns being erected.

However, the county council says that the new 10m high lighting columns would have less impact on homes nearby than the current orange sodium lamps.

Richard said: "It looks like a done deal to me.

"For the residents it feels like we have had the carpet ripped out from underneath us and that the councils are acting as a law unto themselves here.

"We are not happy at all. What really riles me is the lack of information from the county council - I feel they have not been very transparent here."

But a county council spokesman said that the decision of the county committee at the end of next month would be debated properly and the depot could create many jobs in the town.

rfraser@guardiangrp.co.uk