Concerns have been raised about plans to put a children's play area on a West Cumbrian estate next to a rubbish store.

Residents of Forgehill Park in Workington have been fighting for seven months to have a play area built after developer Persimmon said there was no room on the site.

The company has now submitted plans for play equipment on the site, as required by a condition attached to the planning permission for the development.

But Workington Town Council's planning committee last night raised concerns the proposed site was next to a bin store.

Councillor Hilary Harrington said: "They have got people to buy property thinking there's going to be a safe play area for the children and now they're talking about putting it in this place.

"I think building control need to be a bit more on the ball here."

Town clerk Chris Bagshaw explained that most of the green spaces on the site were steep so were unsuitable for play equipment.

Another area was privately owned, having been sold to the homeowners, he added, while a third had had "no ball games" signs put up by Westfield Housing Association.

Coun Mike Heaslip suggested Persimmon should level one of the better-located sites or buy more suitable land instead of putting the equipment in the proposed location.

Committee chairman Coun Mike Rollo was concerned that the developer had changed its plans for providing necessary additions to the estate more than once.

He said: "They were supposed to put traffic calming at the entrance to the site in phase one. They they said that was unviable so they'd do it at the end.

"If they say the play area site is suitable we're not going to go to judicial review to say it's not. They should be held to account from day one."

He added that planners should have got the company to set out where its play area would go and what equipment it would have from the beginning of the planning process.

He said: "If you want a play area you have got to get the details from the beginning. This fight's been going on for years. They have said 'okay, we'll put one in' and they have found the site to put the minimum requirements in."

Coun Antony McGuckin said: "If we'd had the specifications at the beginning we wouldn't have this problem."

The meeting also heard concerns from a resident that there was no path leading from homes to the planned play area site and that access would be difficult with pushchairs. Mr Bagshaw added that a second gate should be requested on the fenced play area.

The committee agreed to pass on its concerns to Allerdale council, which will decide on the application.