Brownfield First policy saves Chew Valley greenbelt at Robert Fletcher’s Mill from development
Oldham’s Labour Council has voted at full Council on the 24th March 2021 to join 8 other Greater Manchester boroughs in Places for Everyone a joint development plan taking forward spatial planning following the demise of the GMSF.
Councillor Hannah Roberts, Cabinet Member for Housing, announced that in addition to saving the greenbelt sites at Woodhouses, Thornham Old Road, Bardsley Vale and Spinners Way, it is now possible to also remove Hanging Chadder and the greenbelt land in the Chew Valley next to Robert Fletcher’s Mill. The brownfield mill site will remain as a strategic allocation. There will also be a reduction of 80 homes in the Coalpit Lane site, further reducing greenbelt allocation.
Cllr Roberts said ‘This Labour administration has worked extremely hard to deliver a Brownfield First policy for building new homes. We have identified additional sites across the borough to add to the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA), completely revamped plans for Oldham Town Centre as part of Creating a Better Place and produced a Mills Strategy identifying those that can be redeveloped. I am delighted that we have succeeded in saving so much of our greenbelt land. Our task has been made more difficult by Tory Government insistence on inflated Local Housing Need targets which are neither local nor meeting our housing need.’
Local campaigner Stephanie Shuttleworth said ‘Like other Greenfield residents, I was concerned about a housing development on Greenbelt land. Roberts Fletcher’s Mill is a brownfield site in the greenbelt which could be homes for local people. As a resident who recently struggled to find an affordable family home in Saddleworth, I hope that it will be possible to work with the owners of the site, local residents and local groups to build the homes we badly need.’
Oldham still faces many challenges to provide the homes we need in Saddleworth and across the borough. The Flexible Housing Fund identified in Creating a better place will help us to unlock challenging brownfield sites and Oldham is bidding for as much additional funding as possible to make brownfield sites financially viable for development. The recent Housing Strategy outlines the policies and actions we will take to provide Oldham residents with safe, warm affordable homes.
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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