A WELL-KNOWN band have helped a campaign group fighting to prevent Flixton’s green belt from being built on smash their fundraising target by donating £2,000 to the cause.

Flixton, Urmston and Davyhulme Future Planning on-line group are fighting town hall proposals to build houses on swathes of land in Flixton as part of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF).

They have set up a £5,000 appeal in order to 'take this fight to the council' by employing their own expert independent planner to assess sites that could be built on instead of the green belt in Flixton.

In just two weeks, a total of £3,000 was raised – but yesterday the group unexpectedly smashed their fundraising goal thanks to Flixton’s The Rainband.

The band donated £2,000 to help with the campaign’s efforts on Sunday, bringing the total to £5,000 – the campaign target.

Although the donation was marked anonymous, they signed off on the Justgiving page: “Our hometown means more to us than words can say. Let's hope the 'rain' keeps falling on the green belt for many years to come. ☔band. Fight Til the end x”.

The Rainband have toured across Europe with Paolo Nutini, as well as playing the mainstage at the Isle of Wight festival with music legends Fleetwood Mac and sharing the stage with the Kaiser Chiefs at Delamere Forest. Flixton, Urmston and Davyhulme Future Planning’s Michelle McGrath said she and her fellow campaigners were astounded by their generosity.

“Wow, this is fantastic,” she said. “We want to thank them from the bottom of our hearts. Commissioning an independent planner, which this money allows us to do, could change the outcome for Flixton. Yesterday we thought it was a hoax or a glitch in the system.”

Trafford Council has put forward plans to erect 750 houses on land at Flixton station, which includes part of William Wroe Golf Course, which is due to close this week.

The authority intends to move the green belt boundary as part of the GMSF proposals, meaning Grade II-listed Flixton House and the playing fields would be declassified.

Flixton, Urmston and Davyhulme Future Planning wish to challenge the 'exceptional circumstances' element needed to remove green belt status.

For more information on the campaign, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/flixtongreenbelt.