Two housing schemes on ‘open space’ have received hundreds of objections from neighbours, councillors and an MP. The separate schemes - one close to Springside Road, Bury, and the other for land off Brownhills Close and Bury Road, Tottington - are due to be decided by the council's planning committee at a meeting next week.
Along the southern boundary of the Springside Road site is a hedgerow and road which leads to Bank Top Farm that carries a bridleway and land designated as green belt, a special landscape area and a river valley. The site is not in the green belt, but is designated as protected open land.
Access would be from Springside Road and works would include widening the road and providing footpaths. The land has recently been refused planning permission for five homes and a previous application in 1998 was also refused.
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Ward councillor Liam Dean has objected to the plan, claiming it violates town hall policy ']seeking] to protect, conserve and improve the landscape of quality of the borough'. He added: “The increase in traffic from both sides of the junction will have intolerable effects on road and public safety that have no easily rectifiable solution.
“There are serious concerns about the volume of traffic that will come from the Tetrosyl development, not least more houses off Springside Road.” He said public views of Peel Tower and Holcombe Hill would also be affected.
Bury North MP James Daly, said: “Bury council has recently submitted their local plan as part of the Places for Everyone submission. Since submitting the original plan to the planning inspector, Bury council has submitted amendments to the plan, requesting the removal of open land in Walshaw and Elton as sufficient brownfield land could be found for homes to be built.
“In neither the first draft nor the subsequent amend requests, was Walmersley included in this. “As such, I cannot see how the council could approve this application on protected open land when it is suggesting to the planning inspector open land should be removed from their local plan.”
Three other objections were to the plan were received by the council. The second housing scheme to be decided on next week is from Barnaby Properties Ltd for five houses off Brownhills Close, Tottington. The plans include ‘improved formal and informal community open space’ and ‘wider green space enhancements’.
The plan is for a swathe of land between properties on Royds Close and Cedar Fold next to an expanse of woodland extending from a cycleway.
Old railway lines, known as ‘The Lines’ and countryside exists to the north of the site. A council report said the ‘application site is rugged unmanaged land that has been overtaken by the natural environment’.
A 194-signature petition objecting to the proposals has been received by the council. It raised issues including it ‘will encourage unsociable behaviour as the plans show a park, which would be used as a meeting point for youths and drugs’ and that ‘the owners of Rosewood and Brownhills Close purchased properties on the basis that the land would be used as open space and this is specified on the deeds’.
52 letters of objection have also been sent to the council. Planning officers at Bury Council have recommended approval of both the schemes.
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