'Inappropriate' & 'harmful' built development on Saddleworth's Green Belt
- A so called 'all-weather pitch' + extensive ground engineering + floodlights + fencing.... ON Greenbelt within a river floodplain!
- A car park/turnaround + resident car park also ON Green belt
Green Belt Harm: The 2017 Judicial Review verdict confirmed that 'sport pitches' are NOT in the list of developments 'permitted' on Green Belt as Oldham Council tried to argue for many years.
Throughout the site selection exercise in 2014/15 and throughout the planning consultation prior to Judicial Review (in 2015, & 2016) Oldham Council had adhered to the incorrect opinion that the playing fields themselves were ‘appropriate development’ in the Green Belt. This was even stated in the final Planning Officer report to planning committee. This is contrary to planning case law and national planning policy guidelines.
At the Judicial Review hearing, Mr. Justice Kerr agreed with the Save Diggle Action Group that the playing fields on the Green Belt land should be viewed as ‘inappropriate development’ in the Green Belt.
Planning reports had tried to downplay the fact that development was taking place as exemplified by this bizarre statement: ‘The playing fields will remain relatively open, with only lighting and fencing adding to the constructed elements to the area" !! [Environment Statement Chapter 7]
Construction of a parent car park/drop-off and turn around area on Green Belt Land
The extent of harmful impacts as a result of the Green Belt highways proposals has not been fully assessed by applicant in the Environment Statement. However, to be clear, there will be a number of adverse environmental impacts as a result of this work including: air pollution, noise, lighting (from car headlights and new street lamps) encroaching into environmentally sensitive areas, adverse visual impact & degrading of the landscape within the river valley, adverse impact on recreational and residential amenity.
In addition to the sport pitches (as if that wasn't damaging enough), the Council want to take out another area of Green Belt, for further 'inappropriate development':
Construction of a parent car park/drop-off & turn around area on Green Belt Land: the applicant (Oldham Council/Unity Partnership) acknowledge that this is inappropriate development in Green Belt but try to argue that ‘special circumstances’ exist.
Construction of residential car parking on Green Belt land behind houses on Huddersfield road: The applicant has tried to argue (in the highways Planning Statement) that this is not Green Belt land.... but the Oldham Unitary Development Plan map shows that it is (& MAGIC map also clearly shows that it is indeed Green Belt Land).
This development directly opposes the fundamental aim of Green Belt policy
NPPF: Paragraph 79: “The Government attaches great importance to Green Belts. The fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the essential characteristics of Green Belts are their openness and their permanence”
Rather than preventing urban sprawl, the proposals outline an urbanisation project for the Diggle valley, with the encroachment of a ‘brownfield site’ (in inverted commas as the Dobcross Works site was in use up to March 2015, so is not derelict) into an area of Green Belt pasture and functional river floodplain.
- It can be seen from the plans that Green Belt makes up more than 50% of the proposed development area (sport pitches + car park/turn around area + residential car par to rear of houses). [see image below]
- From even a brief glance at proposals it is quite clear that the characteristics of openness and permanence associated with this particular area of Green Belt and how it relates to wider Green Belt area and open countryside surrounding it will be lost.
- The essential character of ‘openness’ will be lost: the current open uninterrupted views across the valley bottom from all surrounding viewpoints and public rights of way will be lost and replaced with highly visible development comprising numerous intrusive features that obstruct the view e.g. 3m high weldmesh security fencing and 16m high floodlights around artificial pitches. There will be two large 3m high retaining walls in the south-west and north-west corners of the field adjacent to Diggle Brook (of the ‘gabion basket’ type) and a large area of car parking with further topography changes.
[see images below]
In relation to the sports pitch area: the proposals will result in the exclusion of an area of Green Belt 2.3ha in size from surrounding countryside and surrounding Green Belt area; the view across the field will be obstructed by these features. A further approx. 0.5ha will be taken out for car parking (resident + drop off area).
The site-selection exercise and PSBP Feasibility Study did NOT take into account that the Diggle site option would result in 'significant harm' (in legal terms) to the Green Belt in Diggle
This should have been factored in, in favour of keeping the school in Uppermill, (where there would be no 'harm' to Green Belt).
However, despite the fact that the PSBP site-selection process was heavily criticised in the Judicial Review ruling and despite the fact that in the two years since the ruling the ESFA & Oldham Council have had ample opportunity to revisit the site-selection process in order to properly consider the Uppermill site - they have refused to do this.
The ESFA has chosen to remain steadfast to their “value for money” objective and inappropriately weighted scoring mechanism, no matter how much environmental harm is caused by the development of a new school in Diggle.
After Mr Justice Kerr’s judgment, the Department for Education and Oldham Council should find this continued blinkered behaviour by the ESFA as totally unacceptable. But instead they continue to agree with the ESFA’s irrational choice to build in Diggle and cause serious substantial harm to both National Cultural Heritage and the Green Belt. Substantial harm which would be totally avoided by building the new school in Uppermill.
It is deplorable that a Government Agency, a Government Department and a Local Authority should be conducting themselves in such an irresponsible manner.
Lamenting the loss of a cherished landscape: Greenbelt in the foreground - to be developed as a car park & turn around. Greenbelt in the background - to be engineered into a raised sport pitch platform. This is unlawful development on Greenbelt - but Oldham Council seem to think that the law does not apply to them. This proposal will ruin the picturesque landscape of this rural valley forever.