THE CONTROVERSIAL plan to build 2,150 homes at Godley Green Garden Village will now not be heard until at least February.
Tameside Council’s Speakers Panel (Planning) committee was set to discuss the application for outline permission on Thursday, December 21.
But a decision by the Highways Agency to extend holding direction until February 8 to allow more time to review the impact on the Strategic Road Network, including the recent Government consent for the Mottram Bypass, means a delay.
The Correspondent told how an objection by Claire Elliott, of the Save Tameside Green Belt group, compares permitting Godley Green to a ship being allowed to head for wreckage.
It mentioned the 1967 Torrey Cannon disaster and its Captain Pastrengo Rugiati by saying: “Just as Captain Rugiati was too slow to adjust, he had a plan and saw far too late that the plan was doomed to failure — and with it his ship.
“So also, the Godley Green Garden Village proposal is badly off course and on its current trajectory doomed to failure.
“The question is whether the planning authority has the independence statute demands and the integrity of purpose to refuse an application which is clearly defective.
“Furthermore, whether the council’s chief executive is willing to instruct a change of direction or risk ‘plan continuation bias’ and potentially become Tameside’s very own Captain Pastrengo Rugiati.”
An environmental impact assessment (EIA) which was ‘refreshed’ as part of the application is also a point of contention.
But the Highways Agency’s decision means the council panel is not able to determine a decision on the application until all the requested information has been reviewed and responded to in full, meaning a rescheduling is necessary.
Revised arrangements for considering and determining the application will be announced in due course.
Godley Green’s outline planning application was validated last December but following feedback received from both the public and statutory consultees, a range of technical studies and surveys like ecology, archaeology and transport were updated and refreshed to support the Environmental Statement element.
Additional school places along with new health care services, retail and recreation facilities and all the necessary road infrastructure and utilities are all included in the plans.
And despite the outcry from many campaigners, it is claimed they also involve major investment in greenspace and biodiversity to protect and enhance the natural habitats and increase current public access to the greenspace by nearly 50 per cent.
Tameside Council also says it will create at least 500 jobs each year over the 15-year development span.
It adds: “The next stage in the development process after planning determination will be to enter the process to find a developer partner that can support the council’s vision for Godley.”
For more information on the development, go to www.godleygreen.com