GODLEY GREEN Garden Village has been given the go ahead for a second time, as some landowners refuse to sell.
And Premier League football giants Arsenal may end up playing a part.
Tameside Council hopes to build 2,150 homes on the site off Mottram Old Road, which will be divided into two.
And a meeting of Tameside Council’s Speaker’s Panel (Planning) committee on Wednesday, October 16 cleared outline permission once more in what was an update of procedural matters following the adoption of the Places for Everyone scheme rather than a fresh decision.

Despite that, objectors spelled out their worries, with Hyde Godley Councillor Andrea Colbourne stating: “I have concerns with the recommendation that says authority will be delegated to the head of planning to amend conditions. This reduces accountability.
“I’d also like to express my concern over the lack of consultation with residents since the decision taken in November 2023.”
Claire Elliott, of Save Tameside Greenbelt, questioned the council’s ability to manage the project and added: “In the section relating to the National Planning Policy Framework, it says, ‘it is clearly aligned to the trajectory of current and proposed national proposals.’
“Given our deputy leader and Tameside MP, Angela Rayner, announced a complete overhaul of the planning system, if this project goes ahead will it be following those rules and if not, why not?
“If those rules do have to be followed, what is the viability of this project?
“Alan French is a landowner who doesn’t want to sell. He’s still none the wiser. How many of you would like to be in the dark, not knowing if your home is going to be taken away from you?”
Divided by Godley Brook, Godley Green Garden Village will have 1,250 dwellings planned in the west and 900 in the east.
Planning officer Steven Kirkham told the meeting conditions can be imposed on unsold land as part of a section 106 agreement with the developer, which is hoped to be completed by spring 2025.
As things stand, the main points of that will see a minimum of 15 per cent of the properties to be affordable housing.
More than £5 million will be paid for education developments, including a proposed new primary school and improvements to nearby Alder Community High School.
Delivery of public open space and off-site highway improvements are also included, as is a minimum biodiversity net gain of 10 per cent in provisions made.
And a report states: “Legal advice has confirmed it appropriate to use conditions to support the securing of a section 106 prior to any development commencing on certain site parcels that cannot enter into the section 106 at this point in time.”
Mr Kirkham also pointed out where Arsenal come in, relating to a 2005 case which saw the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott backed in the High Court to use planning laws to support the building of their Emirates Stadium.
He added: “It’s called the Arsenal condition because it relates to a precedent set on the Emirates Stadium.
“Those parcels of land cannot be developed until owners enter the equivalent of the section 106 agreement, which is binding to the other landowners.”
And a wordy condition states no development can start until an agreement substantially close to the section 106 agreement in place has been agreed with landowners not selling yet and completed.
Outline permission for Godley Green was granted in November 2923 then confirmed by then Secretary of State for Housing Michael Gove.
If it is built, Godley Stud Farm and Far Meadow Farm will be demolished, along with stable buildings of Brookfold Farm and agricultural buildings of Greenside Farm.
All councillors on the panel, except Cllr Doreen Dickinson, voted to approve the application.
Once the section 106 agreement is completed, it is expected reserved matters applications for initial site enabling works will follow later next year.
It’s funny how now this hair brained idea is on the table they’ve decided to actually cut all the overgrown bushes on the footpath down the A560. Either that or some genius realised it’s cheaper to cut bushes than spend money on actually building a decent path and cycle lane. Meh.
There’s not going to be a school, it was confirmed at the planning meeting. Yet more Labour lies
I asked a specific question “ will there be a new primary school yes or no” and the reply from Steve Kirkham planning officer was NO
I think everyone concerned with this article, Correspondent or Commentator needs to have a short sharp lesson in comprehension and coverage.
Tameside MBC resolved to grant consent for this scheme on the 1st November 2023. The resolution was sent to Micheal Gove’s levelling up department who gave it the go ahead within a week. The next hurdle was Andy Burnham’s Places for Everyone scheme which although it no longer covered the whole of Greater Manchester was given the go ahead by the National Planning Inspectorate in February 2024. The nine GMC boroughs involved accepted it and by the end of March 2024 Godley Green was taken out of the Green Belt. Also, the red edge on the plan attached to the article is substantially incomplete.
At that point Tameside and their chosen developers started work on the S106 content and budgets for development preparation. This is still, as described on October 16th, ongoing.
i would comment here that the plan at the head of this article is a work of complete fiction. Uncoloured land may well be optioned – but not necessarily with Tameside Council. As for bleating fools like Alan French – he needs to wise up and start communicating. He is not some poor OAP or long term Godley Green landholder. He is younger than me – has been a landowner here for generations less than me – and is doing himself no favours. Not a matter for pity or sympathy, more a matter of amazement that King Canute obviously lives!
The Godley Green scheme is now unstoppable backed by both major parties and like it or not is a fact of life. If you want it to go away – rest assured – it won’t.
The comment about recent hedge cutting is frankly unreal. The hedges along Mottram Old Road have been trimmed annually by resposible landowners for years and this has nothing whatsoever to do with Godley Green and if this is not done Tameside will take legal action to require it.
Educational spending of some £5m is budgeted as part of the S106 commitment. The local tories may not want to recognise that – but the figures are there in the report of the s106 discussions so far. Suggestions that this schem is bereft of infrastructure spending is just shroud waving – sorry.
Those hedges have been overgrown for the past 3 years so no one is cutting anything annually. The point is they’re trying to quickly polish up before insisting we swallow what they’re proposing. You can write a whole dissertation if you like but it doesn’t make you correct. Opinions are like rear endsz everyone has one.