PLANS to build 175 homes on land in Mossley have been given the go ahead, much to the disappointment of campaigners.
More than 200 people objected to Wain Homes’ detailed reserved matters application for the development on land off Huddersfield Road, between Hey Farm estate and Mossley Hollins High School, after outline permission was granted in July 2024.
Despite that and the three ward borough councillors – Jack and Stephen Homer and Gary Roylance – along with Mossley Town Council coming out against, it was approved at the meeting of Tameside Council’s Speaker’s Panel (Planning) committee on Wednesday, July 23.
Five councillors voted for, with four Reform UK members against and Labour’s Atta Ul-Rasool and Conservative Doreen Dickinson abstaining.
Now the developer hopes to be on site within a year, with work completed inside five.
But upon hearing of the approval, Mossley Town Councillors Dave Jones and Hamza Aslam spoke of their frustration.
They said: “This will come as deeply disappointing news to many people across Mossley.
“It follows a long campaign by residents, neighbours, Mossley Hollins High School, Protect Our Mossley, community groups and your local councillors, who have consistently fought to protect the interests of our town.
“For well over a decade, residents have opposed plans to build on this site.
“Hundreds of objections have been submitted, local representatives have spoken against the proposals at every opportunity and campaigners have worked tirelessly to ensure Mossley’s voice was heard, particularly resident John Pywell, who wrote a detailed report of objection, which was entirely disregarded.
“Mossley needs housing, but it must be affordable and in the right locations, with the right infrastructure to support our families.
“Development must never come at the cost of compromising the character of our town or the wellbeing of its residents.”
At the meeting, Cllrs Dickinson and Allan Hopwood raised concerns about the cumulative impact of this development and others along Huddersfield Road will have, especially at its junction with Mottram Road in Stalybridge.
Cllr Jake Frater doubted the methodology of ‘trip generations’ – how many car journeys – the development will cause.
While Cllr Vincent Ricci wondered how many of the 26 affordable properties, three and four-bedroomed homes, will really be bought by those looking to get on the housing ladder.
Cllr Jack Homer told the panel of his concerns, also asking for the site of a children’s play area to be moved away from the Hey Farm estate towards Mossley Hollins.
He said: “I’m not against having a park. The closest is actually Egmont Street, so it’s quite a way away.
“I’m all in favour for more play areas for children, but what I want to emphasise is the location of it.
“It’s currently located at the back of people’s gardens and their concerns are it’s going to be bringing noise and disruption to their houses.
“On the other side of the proposal we’ve got a secondary school. I’d say that would be a better place for a park to be placed rather than next to the houses.
“Other objections that I’ve had are about the size of the houses and people are concerned about loss of privacy.
“Another big one that’s been raised is the site of biological importance going through the middle of the site.
“There are concerns there’s going to be a reduction to the size and there’s not been enough consideration of how the site’s going to be maintained and looked after.
“And living in Mossley, seeing the water coming off the top of the hill, across Huddersfield Road and pouring on to that site, people who live on Hey Farm will tell you that the site does become saturated.
“The rain does run off, houses are flooding, gardens are getting wet, building an estate right next to this where the water is draining is only going to make that situation worse.
“If this application is going ahead, I’d like to see some changes to try and reduce the impact for residents who are going to have to put up with 175 houses being dropped on their back gardens.”
After approval was given, more than £400,000 will be paid as part of a Section 106 agreement, including £50,000 to Mossley Hollins, £220,000 for greenspace improvements – including to Mossley Park and Egmont Street Playing Fields.
£182,710 will go towards highways, while bus stops will also be improved, wit funds to be handed over on commencement of the development.
And speaking on behalf of Wain Homes, Gareth Salthouse revealed the creation will create 200 jobs and claimed it would create an increase in household expenditure of about £5 million every year to local businesses and services.
He also countered concerns about flooding, detailing how their measures far outweigh those put in place when Hey Farm estate was built, with water being run off either into the Huddersfield Narrow Canal or the River Tame in a controlled fashion.
Worries over the stability of the slope were also eased as a reinforced concrete retaining wall will be put in place.
He also assured councillors the play area will be maintained by a management company, with future occupiers paying a fee towards it.
Mr Salthouse said: “In terms of the affordable houses that we provide, a lot of the time we’re asked why we’re not providing larger family size accommodation for affordable homes.
“Here, those three and four bedroom family homes will complement the smaller affordable houses that we’re already making and they will be either at social rent or they’ll be shared ownership.
“We want to deliver the homes quicker. It’s expected we’ll be on site delivering the properties after preparation work in a year and then four or five later, we’ll finish the site.
“In terms of the adjacent housing estate, 20-30 years ago it was quite common to see one or two planning conditions.
“Now on the outline planning permission we’ve got 25 planning conditions, we’ve got the section 106 agreement, we’ve got another 12 or so planning conditions for this application.
“So the expectations and the thresholds we’ve got at the moment now are significantly higher than it was for the adjacent housing estate.”