MEMBERS of a residents action group are celebrating after the campaign to restore Sandyforth Farm at Garswood received a tremendous cash boost.

Following a meeting between Labour MP for St Helens North, Dave Watts, Makerfield MP, Ian McCartney and the North West Development Agency (NWDA) it was agreed that up to £2 million would be spent on restoring the old mine site through the Greater Manchester Reclamation Programme.

Plans in the pipeline already include reverting the land back to a countryside location or possibly making it into a general facility for use by the local community.

The NWDA will meet with Wigan Council shortly to discuss appropriate use for the land and it is hoped that plans will be finalised in the autumn.

Although the application by HJ Banks Ltd. to have the site turned into landfill remains, this latest development is great news for not only the MPs but also for the campaigners.

The People Against Landfill Site group (PALS) have wageda nine-month campaign in which more than 1,000 objections, by residents mainly from the Garswood area, were sent to Wigan Council stating why landfill was not the way to go.

Chair of the PALS group, Councillor Sue Murphy, told the Star: "I would like to say a big thank-you to the members of the action group who have worked so hard. I would also like to thank the Star for their coverage and also Dave Watts and Ian McCartney who have been absolutely brilliant".

Ian McCartney, said: "This is fantastic news for all the local residents near the Sandyforth Farm. For too long they have had to suffer the unsightly mess left there by a bankrupt mining company".

However, Despite obtaining the money Dave Watts and Ian McCartney are still encouraging people to attend a public meeting at Winstanley County Primary School, Tanhouse Drive tomorrow evening (Friday September 5) from 7pm when a number of issues will be discussed.