A PUB in Westhoughton has had its bid for a smoking shelter foiled.

The Rose Hill Tavern, in Leigh Road, applied to Bolton Council to build a single-storey extension with a glazed roof and open sides in its beer garden ahead of the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces which comes into force on July 1.

Neighbour Carol Freshney was the only person to object to the plan, but the council's planning and highways committee decided her arguments carried weight and refused the scheme by a 12-6 vote.

She told the committee the boundary between her back garden and the pub's beer garden consisted of just conifers and said the shelter would put her security and privacy at risk.

Smoke, she said, was an "invisible killer" and could drift into her home from the shelter, along with music from the pub when its doors were open for users of the shelter.

Cllr David Wilkinson said the planned shelter would have "huge implications" for people living nearby.

"It is more than a simple shelter and is bigger than most conservatories. It would have tables and chairs and would be as comfortable as being inside, in some respects," he said.

Cllr Rosa Kay said: "I'm a smoker, but I do not expect luxuries to be provided for me to indulge my habit."

She said the whole point of the new legislation was to discourage smoking.

But Cllr Laurie Williamson, a non-smoker, gave his support to the pub's plan.

He said: "Pubs are going to have to change and we should not be unreasonable in denying them the opportunity to address this positively.

"There's going to be a period of adjustment in which some things will work and some will not. But we should give them a try and learn from experience."