WORK has been halted on a new multi-million pound new campus — after developers were accused of breaching a planning condition.

Work on sports pitches at the £10 million Eden Boys’ School campus — the borough's first all-boys state school — was stopped by planning bosses who found that a “restoration plan” had not been provided.

The issue is understood to involve cabins being put up on the site before work began on the new pitch.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: “There is a condition in the planning permission that the developer has to provide a restoration plan before any work starts on the pitch. It came to light last week that work had started prior to this being submitted.

“As soon as we were made of this we spoke to the developer, and reminded them of their obligations under the terms of the planning consent. They have now submitted a restoration plan and work has now stopped until this is determined."

Residents contacted The Bolton News to express their concern about the loss of playing fields for the community. But it has now emerged that as part of the work, a new football pitch and multi-use games area for community use will be developed.

Eden Boys School opened in September on a temporary site and the school hopes to move into the modern campus in September next year.

Shabir Fazal, headteacher, said building projects experience technicalities — and added that the new school would benefits its pupils.

He said that the community would also benefit from the sports facilities being provided as part of the development.

Eden Boys’ School, for 11 to 18-years-olds, is part of the government’s flagship free school programme. It has been approved by the Department for Education and the school, which will educate up to 700 boys, now needs planning permission.

It is being opened by the Tauheedul Free Schools Trust, which was formed following the success of the Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School in Blackburn — a voluntary aided school.

Although it is designated as a Muslim faith school, the school says it will welcomes applications from families of all faiths to promote community cohesion and shared values of respect, honesty, integrity and hard work.

A sixth form is expected to open in 2016.

Free schools are state-funded schools independent of local authority control.

The government says they are run by teachers — not local or central government bureaucrats. They have the freedom to decide the length of the school day and term, the curriculum, and how they reward their teachers and spend their money.