Neighbours near Lindow Moss want answers on a proposal to restore the ravaged peat bog in exchange for building new homes.

Residents turned out at a public exhibition to see details of plans to build 14 homes next to the bog and restore the site to create a wetland nature reserve.

The owners, Croghan Peat, say they will stop digging peat at the bog – extracted since the 1950s – if they get approval for the homes plan.

People living nearby have said they back the proposal if it means the peat extraction stops but some have concerns about how the restoration would work.

The homes plan and the nature reserve proposals are to be submitted as two separate applications.

Tony Evans, from the Saltersely Common Preservation Society which aims to protect the bog, said: “We want to know who would manage the restoration and make sure it happened.

“They are two separate applications, so we’re concerned Croghan Peat would be under no obligation to carry out the restoration. We support the houses if it means they will stop digging peat, and the bog would make a fantastic wetland habitat, but we’re concerned it may not go ahead if they get permission for the homes.” The new homes would be built on two hectares to the south of the peat bog, used for the storage, processing and distribution. The site is owned by Andrew Rowland and Richard Bond, who live in Somerset, and operated by their company Croghan Peat Industries Ltd.

A spokesman for the company said around 60 people attended the public exhibition at Ned Yates Garden Centre.

He said: “The comments were overwhelmingly supportive, especially for the early restoration of the peat excavation site to a natural wetland habitat.

“The main concerns surrounded the potential increase in traffic, the ground conditions beneath the site and site drainage.

“There was a lot of interest regarding how the restoration of the peat extraction site would be achieved in practice and how it would be managed over the longer term. These matters will be addressed in the documentation submitted with the planning applications.”