Controversial planning application rejected

Town planners in Oldham have refused a ‘controversial’ planning application for two bungalows which received more than 70 objections from local residents.

Developers Saddleworthholdings Ltd planned to build two ‘luxury’ detached bungalows and a communal open space on a slim plot of land at Arncliffe Rise in Moorside. 

The privately owned land, known locally as ‘the croft’, was previously considered informal community green space. But the green patch has recently been the subject of an eight-month long planning spat between the current landowner and local residents. 

The plans included two one-storey buildings on the northern end of the ‘wedge-shaped’ plot of land, which sits in the middle of several residential streets. Each property would have had two private parking spaces. 

The remaining two-thirds of the site would be turned into a maintained community space with footways to cross the croft and a communal herb garden. In planning documents, the developer promised a ‘sustainable, visually sympathetic, and policy compliant’ development. 

Around 77 residents objected to the proposal, which is the latest in a series of applications rejected by Oldham Council. Locals pointed to a loss of local amenity, light, and parking issues. 

“Adding houses on to the little green would ruin the look of the area and have a negative effect on the existing homes on both sides of the green,” one resident wrote. “[The green] has been a safe place for children to play and has public paths through it that are well used, the land was a valuable community area that was well maintained and kept clear of rubbish by residents before the new owner bought the land.”

Residents also made frequent reference to the state of the land in their objections, accusing the developers of dumping old caravans and rubble onto the site following the rejection of a previous planning application. The developers, a company owned by the landowners, have denied any wrongdoing.

One resident wrote in their objection: “As a resident of Arncliffe Rise for over 20 years, I have seen how the current owners of the croft have utterly destroyed the amenity green space by dumping caravans and building waste as well as signs from estate agents.”

Another added that though the current owner has ‘made a mess of the green’, this was still preferable to the ‘permanent fixture’ of the two bungalows. 

The caravans were recently removed by the council under a community safety order, after they were deemed to pose a safety risk for children. The landowner will be charged for the removal.

A spokesperson for Saddleworthholdings Ltd stated: “If the caravans were genuinely considered abandoned, we welcome their removal in the interests of site safety.” 

They added the owners ‘had not been notified’ of any enforcement order.

Planning officers sided with residents, refusing the application on three grounds. They stated the bungalow designs were an ‘incongruous visual intrusion into the area’, and raised safety fears about the placement of the driveways. 

Town Planner Graham Dickman added: “The loss of this amenity green space would cause unjustified harm to the visual amenity of the street scene and would detrimentally alter the spacious, open aspect and semi-rural character of the area.”