ALLOTMENT holders facing eviction in Barnoldswick say they will not give up their plots without a fight.

Tenants on the Havre Park site have been served eviction notices by landowner Silentnight and have been told to clear all structures from their allotments by May 1.

But they feel the demand is unfair and will be damaging for the local environment.

Tenants say the allotments are home to numerous species of wildlife, including protected species such as bats, owls and newts, and that any development on the boggy land may cause flooding to the surrounding area.

They also claim that if the bed manufacturer decides to build a car park at Havre Park, the resulting traffic from shift workers could disturb nearby residents until 2am.

However, a spokesman for the Silentnight group stressed that no plans had been made for the site and the company's immediate priority was to clean it up.

He also pointed out that Silentnight had already spent money cleaning up the site last August after a notice was served by local authorities, and said at least half the allotments were never cultivated.

Tenants have paid peppercorn rents of as little as £5 per year for allotments on the site, which was set up several decades ago, and some, such as Clive Jones, have been around for more than 15 years.

Christine Murphy and her partner Leister Hynes have had an allotment at Havre Park since 2004 after joining a waiting list two years earlier.

Mr Hynes, who is currently unable to work due to ill health, grows flowers, plants and vegetables on his plot.

Mrs Murphy says that losing the allotments will be particularly hard for elderly or infirm tenants who may have to pay to have greenhouses, sheds and fencing removed.

She said: "Leister hasn't been able to go back to his job since he injured his arm, but the allotment gets him out of the house and gives him something to do.

"We spent two years on the waiting list for one - it's not like there wasn't enough people waiting for them.

"I know some of them might be looking a bit neglected, but things don't generally grow in winter and nobody is doing up them up at the moment.

"Things are on hold as there's no point in doing anything until we know what's going on."

She added: "Besides, Silentnight never said anything in the past - if they wanted things cleaning up they could have let us know a long time ago."

Mrs Murphy has so far collected more than 70 signatures supporting her protest.

The Silentnight group announced the decision to close the allotments in February, giving tenants three months to clear their plots and saying that the land was needed "for the benefit of employees" due to the business expanding.

This week, a company spokesman said: "We're not sure what we're going to do with the land, but whatever we do we will be going through the appropriate channels first.

"If there did turn out to be any wildlife on the site then that would be something we would certainly look at."

He added: "As far as the removal of sheds and greenhouses go, I can say we would be sympathetic to people who might have trouble clearing their things."

The issue is set for discussion at the next meeting of Barnoldswick Town Council on Wednesday.