Manchester council could be charged millions of pounds in penalty fines if it loses a planning inquiry on a pioneering regeneration scheme.
The £90m renewal of the Grove Village estate is the first housing scheme to use the private finance initiative.

Under the agreement, the council must reimburse its housing association partner, Manchester & District, for delays in accessing the land for building and the holdup to house sales as a consequence.

Three groups, including the Ramblers' Association, used the inquiry to oppose the closure of more than 300 alleyways in the crime-ridden area as part of the renewal (HT 14 May, page 9). They plan a legal challenge is this fails.

A victory could cause severe delays to the project's progress.

"If the ramblers get their way and we can't close the paths, it could very quickly get into millions," said Ian Perry, chief executive of Harvest Housing Group and chair of the Grove Village consortium. Manchester & District is a subsidiary of Harvest.

The planning inspectors' report is expected later this summer.