After a long-running battle, residents are a step closer to saving a piece of land from development.

Campaigners have fought for years to save Roughfields, situated between Hadfield and Padfield. High Peak Borough Council proposed
the idea of building more than 100 houses on the land.

Campaign manager Halina Billingham said the group was passionate about keeping the land free from buildings. She said: “Roughfields is loved by the local community, the land is used by so many people such as dog walkers and children.

The infrastructure around Glossop has hardly changed since the 1960s even though the population has doubled, the roads can’t cope with the traffic as it is, so if they built more houses, that would mean another 100 cars on our roads.”

After numerous polls, surveys and meetings, the group collated all their work to send off to High Peak Borough Council with the hopes of the land being saved from construction.

Ten months later, the group heard back from the council, being told that they have been awarded the asset of community value.

This still means that Roughfields is on the list for scheduled housing, but it also means if the council puts the land up for sale, the group has the right bid for the land. 

Halina said: “The community have worked so hard with this, they are over the moon with the result.” 

Padfield councillor Ollie Cross said: “I’m chuffed as chutney to learn that Roughfields has been approved to be registered as an Asset of Community Value by High Peak Borough Council. 

“I’m grateful to every single local resident who has contributed to the application.

“I was happy to provide a statement of support and have acted as a liaison between HPBC and the Save Roughfields Committee over the past couple of years so I know first hand how much has gone into this and what it means to folk.

“It shows what we can achieve when we work together as we aim to achieve our goal of saving this much loved community green space for generations to come. 

"I'll be upfront whilst this is a welcome move, it doesn't automatically prevent the future development of Roughfields. When the owner of land listed as an Asset of Community Value wishes to dispose of it, the community is given the opportunity to chance to raise funds and submit an offer to purchase the land. 

"The owner of the land is then restricted from disposing of it until a moratorium of up to six months has passed. However, the owner however is under no obligation to accept the offer or for the community to be treated as a preferential bidder."

"That said, it's still a significant boost to the campaign and provides important recognition re how deeply Roughfields is valued and cherished by our local community.