Controversial plans for 126 homes on a former chemical works have been approved despite concerns over asbestos contamination, congestion and increased pressure on local services. Proposals for the Old Akzo Nobel site, near Hollingworth Lake, Littleborough, were unanimously voted through by Rochdale council’s planning committee when it met on Thursday night.
The scheme includes a mix of houses - ranging from two to five bedrooms - with 19 of these being classed as ‘affordable’. There are also new foot and cycle paths, a play park and areas of open space. Lodged by Vistry Partnerships Ltd and Homes England, it seemingly brings to an end 15 years of failed attempts to get the 20 acre plot cleaned up and transformed into housing.
Most recently planning permission was granted for 174 dwellings on the same site, but the scheme was not built out by the previous applicant. And councillors felt the opportunity to secure a less dense development on a brownfield site was not one they could turn down.
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Stephen Anstee said it was clear there were significant concerns around the scheme, and he sympathised ‘significantly’ with the objectors. But he continued: “I do believe it needs a decision tonight, as Coun Sheerin mentioned before, and it is a great opportunity to have some remediation on this site and make it a better place for all.”
He also stressed the ‘key point’ that planning permission was already in place for a residential development with a larger number of houses. “If we reject or defer, it could go anyway, to what could be a much worse scheme,” he said. "That to me just wipes away any opposition that we can have on this site, because it can already happen."
And he pointed out that the council - and its various political groups - advocate a ‘brownfield first’ approach to development. “You can only advocate that and have any attempt at securing the green belt if you vote for development on brownfield when they arrive,” he said.
Coun Aftab Hussain said he ‘agreed completely’ with the Conservative’s comments. “This development is much smaller than the previous one, the previous one was 174, this is 126 houses," he said.
"By approving this application tonight we can have more control over it in terms of putting new conditions on and enforcing those conditions.If we refuse that application tonight they could appeal against it and we would have no control over the development at all.”
Coun Hussain’s proposal was seconded by Coun Peter Rush and voted through by the committee.
However, the application - which was pulled from the October meeting - was nearly withdrawn again after objector Barry Cropper raised concerns over the legality of the application. He told the meeting that the location plan was incorrect and invalidated the application, meaning it should have been amended before being put before the committee.
Mr Cropper - a retired police officer and magistrate - warned councillors that if they continued they could be breaking the code of conduct and ‘complicit in an act of maladministration’. However, all councillors bar Coun Peter Winkler, agreed to continue after taking advice from the council’s legal and planning team.
While it was accepted there may be an issue with the location plan, councillors were told a decision could be made subject to the issue of the location plan being delegated to an officer to resolve.
Fellow objector Ian Jackson, chairman of Littleborough Civic Trust, was more blunt. He described officers’ claims that the proposal would ‘not result in harm’ to neighbouring residents, roads and the site as ‘an absolute load of guff’.
However the committee also heard from Katrina Crisp, from agents Stantec, who spoke in support of the application on behalf of Vistry Partnerships and Homes England.
She told the committee the the proposal was a ‘vast improvement’ to the previous scheme and would clearly bring significant benefits. These, Ms Crisp added, included opening the site to the public, boosting the local economy and the creation of construction jobs.
"The proposed development is a highly sustainable and high quality design which will deliver homes for the borough and on an existing brownfield site," she said.
She also questioned Mr Cropper’s decision to raise discrepancies with the application ‘at the last minute’, saying it would not stop the scheme, but only cause a further delay.
Planning permission was granted subject to the developer making financial contributions totalling nearly £700,000 towards outdoor sports, education, on-site recreation, highway maintenance and walking and cycling.
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