RESIDENTS of a market town have warned councillors that allowing more housing development on its outskirts will destroy its charm.

More than 30 protestors holding placards gathered outside the full meeting of Ribble Valley Borough Council to object to schemes to build 180 new homes on three sites.

They lobbied councillors as they entered the chamber to drop proposals to amend the local plan to allow the building of 100 houses at Highmoor Farm, and 40 at each of Hawthorne Place and Chatburn Road.

Protest leader Andy Pendlebury presented a 1,300 signature petition against changing the housing blueprint's boundaries to include the projects.

He told councillors: "As many of you are hopefully acutely aware, the vast majority of Clitheroe residents are frankly sick of the town being destroyed by overdevelopment whilst the council seeming does nothing and allows our once beautiful town to be destroyed even further.

"Roads are often gridlocked, and there are no new schools, no new healthcare.

"It will be too late to do anything if the boundary changes are agreed.

"I call on councillors to listen to the anger of their constituents and finally do what is right for the centrepiece of the Ribble Valley."

Borough planning chairman Cllr Alison Brown said the council was tied by government targets to find land in its local plan for housing or the Whitehall inspectors reviewing the blueprint would add new sites themselves.

She promised to forward the petition to the planning inspector due to examine the document next month.

Ribble Valley Council leader Cllr Ken Hind said: "Housing targets are set in Whitehall and Westminster but it 's councillors who take the flak."

Mr Pendlebury said: "They are not doing enough to stand up for Clitheroe."