A resident protesting against a scheme to develop a piece of land near his home has succeeded in getting it disqualified for brownfield funding. The site between Crosby Avenue and Crompton Street in Walkden was initially put forward as eligible for the Government's Brownfield Housing Fund (BHF).
Salford city council has agreed to sell the site to housing association Great Places which has planning permission to build five affordable homes and 12 specialist apartments for adults with learning disabilities. The £400,000 scheme was one of a tranche of schemes submitted for consideration by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) which has a £27 million BHF pot.
Resident OIi Spence is one of a number of people living in the area who want the green land kept as "valuable open space" for the local community. He claimed there were restricted covenants on the site preventing its development and keep it safeguarded for the community.
"I contacted one of the directors at GMCA and it took some time for them to come back to me," he said. "When they did they agreed with me. I looked at the history of the site and found the covenant and discovered it's never been a brownfield site.
"If it wasn't for me looking it up, they might've got the funding under false pretences, and that's really aggravated me. Why does it take a member of the public that's switched on to assess the situation and argue the point to get the right outcome?"
A spokesperson for GMCA said: “The Government’s Brownfield Housing Fund (BHF) is designed to unlock brownfield land for development, supporting Greater Manchester’s brownfield-first approach to delivering on our housing targets while minimising the impact on green spaces.
"To date, Greater Manchester has been allocated a total of £135m, which is expected to support the delivery of more than 10,700 homes on brownfield land, including 2,630 affordable units. The site in question was submitted to the GMCA as eligible for BHF funding following an initial assessment.
"After a question was raised by a member of the public, a further review was carried out prior to the usual legal due diligence process, and a decision was taken by the GMCA and Salford City Council that the site did not meet the criteria for BHF funding. As a result, the application has been withdrawn and no grant will be awarded for development.”
Councillor Tracy Kelly, deputy city mayor and lead member for housing, property and regeneration at Salford City Council, said: “Land in Crompton Street in Walkden was put forward to GMCA for BHF money as the site sits on top of some old mine works which will need remediation.
"The brownfield money would have provided an additional £255,000 towards developing this facility to provide much-needed supported accommodation for vulnerable adults with autism and learning difficulties, currently located outside of the city at huge cost to the Salford taxpayer, and away from their families and loved ones.
"It will also provide much-needed affordable housing. However, following a successful intervention by a member of the public it has been determined that the land does not meet all of the technical requirements to be classed as brownfield and as such the money has been withdrawn.
“Subject to planning and further approvals, there are currently no plans to scrap the scheme being brought forward by Great Places. There is huge demand for these services in the city, as Salford residents living with autism and learning difficulties currently have to be relocated outside the city boundary – often miles away from their support networks and families. In addition to this, the cost of providing this care out of borough is significant and the scheme is likely to provide huge savings to local Salford taxpayers.”
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