LIBERAL Democrats have ‘called in’ Burnley Council’s controversial decision to dispose of land surrounding Burnley Wood Youth and Community Group centre.

Five Lib Dem councillors have outlined their opposition to the proposals, which will see the Glebe Street hub demolished to make way for housing.

The council’s special res-ources scrutiny committee will meet next week to answer questions from the campaigners.

The scheme, which could see developers Keepmoat build 117 homes, was granted planning permission in November, and the council’s executive agreed to sign off the land, in Glebe Street, Kirkgate, and Parkinson Street, on December 10.

Almost 600 formal letters of objection, and a 1,400-signature petition, were pr-esented to councillors, but the executive voted unanimously in favour of the project.

Security officers at Burnley Town Hall had to usher out protestors at that meet-ing as tempers flared when council leader Julie Cooper announced that the land would be freed up.

The notice to ‘call in’ the decision has been signed by councillors Tracy Kennedy, Margaret Brindle, Jeff Sumner, Gordon Birtwistle, and Anne Kelly.

They said disposal of the land was ‘not acceptable’, and requested that it ‘rem-ains for recreational use’.

The letter said: “During the process of the related plan-ning application and approp- riation of the land in quest-ion, the council has received over 1,500 objections from local residents.

“Why has the council ch-osen to ignore the vast num- ber of objections and conc-erns from local people, with- out giving any adequate reasons and justification for this action? ”

They also questioned why the public were excluded from a previous executive meeting, in October 2012, where the land disposal was provisionally agreed.

The special resources scrutiny committee will meet at Burnley Town Hall, from 5.30pm, on Thur-sday, January 9.