Plans for an £8.5m new housing estate in Saddleworth have been rejected by councillors over fears it would damage protected countryside.
A proposal to build 40 three and four bedroom homes in Lees had garnered 105 objections from residents. Under the plans a bridge would have been constructed over Thornley Brook to provide better access for residents, and an area of wildlife habitation created in the west of the site.
Overall, with other landscaping and tree planting, this represented a ten per cent net gain in biodiversity, planning officers said. But the site, off Maltby Court, has been designated as being ‘other protected open land’ (OPOL) by the local authority.
