Plans for a controversial new 2,000-home 'garden village' in Tameside have been given a final green light after the government announced it would not be intervening.
The proposed development on Godley Green in Hyde, would be split by Godley Brook across two east and west villages, each with their own ‘local centres’ which would include up to 1,300 sqm of retail space, 1,600 sqm of commercial and 1,000 sqm of local community uses.
Up to 2,150 homes would be built on countryside and pastureland north of Mottram Old Road over a 15-year period. Locals have been fighting the proposals for years and there were more than 4,000 objections and an additional petition with almost 4,500 signatures lodged against the development lodged prior to a meeting of Tameside Council's planning committee earlier this month.
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However, nine out of 10 councillors on the committee backed the plans, saying the benefits of the development would outweigh the impact of building on the Green Belt.
Following the internal approval, the council submitted the plans to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) who could decided to 'call-in' the application.
That a process whereby where the Housing Secretary orders a local authority to refer an application to him or her for a decision. But Tameside say they have received from the DLUHCw which states that the Secretary of State 'has carefully considered the case against call-in policy and has decided not to call in this application being content that it should be determined by the local planning authority.'
Gerald Cooney, executive leader of Tameside Council, said they were not looking for a development partner for the project. He said: “This is more welcome news that puts confidence by the Secretary of State in the sound decision-making process at local authority level.
“The Local Planning Authority and Speaker’s Panel approval will now stand and plans for Godley Green will move ahead to provide much-needed homes for generations to come.”
He added: “This is a pioneering development right here in Tameside that has wide-ranging benefits for the whole borough.
“We are excited to be creating a garden community and will continue to have people at the very heart of the development. The next stage in the development process is underway to find a master developer partner that can support us to deliver the vision for Godley Green.”
Members of the Save Tameside Greenbelt group told the M.E.N after the plans were approved by the committee that they would fight on. Founder Claire Elliott said they could seek a judicial review if the plans weren't called in.
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