Save Bamford Greenbelt | Protest Walk

Saturday 2nd March 2019

The community of Bamford turned out in force for the Protest Walk against the 450 homes proposed on the Bamford Greenbelt.

The protest marched alongside the community football fields, and across the greenbelt land, before heading down Jowkin Lane back to Bamford Chapel for refreshments.

The turnout was overwhelming and reaffirms the communities stance against the proposed plans.

We need you to formally object against the building of new homes on our greenebelt.

We cannot do it for you! See details below to object

How to Object to the GMSF

When: All objections must be received before midnight on Monday 18th March 2019.

Who: Anyone can object by post or e-mail.

Anyone over the age of 13 can object using the online consultation.

Remember, any individual can respond so please encourage all your family to object as well as yourself.

How: By any one of the following methods:

1. By email: Quote - GM Allocation 23 - Bamford/Norden

And send to: planningandhousing@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk

2. By Post: Quote - GM Allocation 23: Bamford/Norden

And send to: Planning Team Consultation,

GMCA

Churchgate House

56, Oxford Street

Manchester

M16 EU

3. Online (only if over 13 years old):

Go to https://www.gmconsult.org/ and click on “The Greater Manchester Plan For Homes, Jobs and the Environment”. Then scroll down to the yellow box at the bottom of the page and click on “Get Started”.

You must answer Q1 with your name, address and post code, then all the other questions are optional, but please make sure you answer Q98 in section 11f which is the question relating to the Bamford site (GM Allocation 23). N.B. Your response can be saved and continued later, it does not have to be completed in one session as there are 77 questions in total.

For Help: Either Email:planningandhousing@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk or Telephone: 0161 778 7000

Consultation Closes Monday 18th MARCH 2019

IDEAS FOR OBJECTIONS

If you are unsure what to write here are some ideas to get you started. You don’t need to try and include everything, pick a few areas that are of concern to you and add any more ideas of your own.

Green belt

Ø This site is green belt and there are no exceptional circumstances for releasing it from green belt as described in the NPPF paragraph 136.

Ø This site is the only publicly accessible green field land in Bamford. All other greenfield land is private and not accessible.

Ø Confusion - The GMSF is based on the Govt’s 2014 statistics for future population growth, which forecast a need for 201,000 houses across Gtr Manchester. If the Govt agreed to allow the use of the more recent ONS 2016 statistics the forecast reduces to 141,000 homes and there would be no need to build on green belt. Recent statements by ministers have only added to the confusion over this vital point in the whole GMSF.

Ø The GMSF have land allocated for 94% of the predicted housing need over the next 20years (189k out of 201k), without using green belt. It is probable that sufficient brownfield land will become available for the remaining 12,000 houses over the next 20 years, and we will still have our precious green belt land.

v Health and Leisure - The site is vital for recreation and health:

Ø Our survey showed that in Feb 2019 over 500 people per week (including families, walkers and dog walkers) used the footpaths across the land and there will be many more in the Summer months.

Ø The benefits of fresh air and exercise to mental and physical health are immeasurable. If this site is lost the nearest public park is 1.5 km away.

Ø The football fields are used by over 600 children each week and the cricket pitches and tennis courts are in constant use throughout the seasons.

Transport

Ø Since 1960 over 130ha of greenfield land in Bamford has been lost to build over 2,000 houses. In the same period there have not been any improvements to the roads and a reduction in public transport.

Ø The nearest train or Met stop is over 6km away and from Rochdale the journey to Manchester is 50 mins plus the time on the bus to get there. From Bury the journey is 25 mins, plus the time on a bus, alternatively we have to drive to the Met and fight for very limited parking.

Ø The only buses are to Rochdale or Bury and commuting to Manchester takes at least 1 hour 30 minutes by car.

Ø At present over 900 cars / hour pass down Norden Rd at peak times. 450 additional houses will mean 900 additional cars at peak times and severe congestion which will affect Norden as well as Bamford.

Environment

Ø Wildlife - The land is a haven for wildlife and supports hundreds of species including ancient hedgerows (over 100 years old) and mature trees which support many small mammals including pipistrelle bats, lapwings, hares and regular sightings of deer.

Ø Flooding - The site has flooded 3 times in the last 10 years. The last occasion was December 2015 when a river of water poured down Jowkin Lane and emptied across the lower section of the site on to Norden Road.

Ø Carbon sink - Currently the site acts as a carbon sink to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, building over it will mean an increase in the amount of CO2 released both by buildings and cars, in addition to the amount that is currently being absorbed by the grassland.

Ø Air Quality - The section of Bury Road from the end of Norden Road to St Michael’s Primary School is an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) and already exceeds air pollution guidelines. Over 900 hundred extra cars will only make this worse.

Infrastructure

Ø Sewers -The sewerage system has not been upgraded in over 50 years, meanwhile 2,000 houses have already been built in the area and 450 more would put a huge strain on the antiquated drainage system.

Ø Pylons - The site contains electricity pylons which will constrain the areas available for construction.

Ø Schools –

· The primary schools in the area are full to capacity

· The nearest secondary school is Oulder Hill School 2.25km walk away (around 40 min), so more likely a 4km car journey would be used.

Ø Doctors - There are no doctors’ surgeries in Bamford. The nearest surgery is Cutgate, 2.25km away. Average doctor:patient numbers nationally are 1:800. This practice is already working at 1:2000 so could not cope with an additional 1000+ patients.

Ø Access - The only access to the whole site is off Norden Road so all the additional traffic would be channelled down one road which is heavily congested at peak times already and leads to an AQMA.

Availability

Ø The site is listed as being 33.7ha in size. However, the developers only own 8.5ha, the remainder is public playing fields, leisure facilities and privately owned farm land.

Ø The privately owned land is not for sale and is grade 2-3 agricultural land which has been farmed by the same family for over 100 years.

Ø The GMSF states that the recreational land will be protected, therefore the only land available is 8.5ha.

Site Selection Policy

Ø Brownfield First - The GMSF states a preference for developing brownfield sites first. Bamford Green Belt Action Group have researched available brownfield sites and found an additional 20ha of land NOT included on the Rochdale brownfield register. These should be developed before any Green Belt is released.

Ø Small Sites Keep it Local - Building on smaller brownfield sites means smaller local builders can develop them which boosts the local economy by creating jobs and keeping the profits in Rochdale, not giving the profit to big corporate developers like Redrow and Barratt.

Ø Site Selection - Of the 7 criteria used for selecting sites, (ref Site Selection Criteria in the GMSF Housing Topic Paper), this site is only shown as fulfilling one: “Criterion 7 – Land that would deliver significant local benefits by addressing a major local problem/issue”. There is no explanation as to what these benefits are or what local problem would be addressed by building on this site.

No Demand

§ The perceived demand for larger houses is not borne out by our own research. In January 2019 there were 88 3+ bed houses for sale within 3 miles of the site, of these a third had been for sale over 6 months.

§ The Sky News Line 18 report in Sept 2018 ranked Rochdale in the top 10% of areas with the lowest demand for houses in the country (37th out of 390 boroughs).

Please feel free to use any of the above and add your own ideas too, especially anything related to the special nature of the land, why it is special to Bamford and what might be lost if it was built on. If you can add any statistics or data that will strengthen your point too.

Finally, if we’ve forgotten anything please share it on Facebook ‘Save Bamford Green Belt’ so others can use it too.

Once the land has gone, it’s gone forever!