A petition against plans to build more than 2,000 homes to create the Godley Green Garden Village in Hyde has already received more than 1,600 signatures.
While a Facebook group called ‘Save Tameside Greenbelt’ has amassed more than 3,000 members as concern grows about the size and scale of the new green zone development.
As previously reported, Tameside Council has launched an initial six weeks public consultation, which closes on March 26, to gain residents’ views about the proposal.
There is a dedicated website and there have been online public engagement meetings.
But Charlotte Rowe, a member of ‘Save Tameside Greenbelt,’ claimed many who had ‘attended’ had been left ‘underwhelmed’ by the meetings, learning little more than they already knew.
“Lots of people joined the consultations hoping to get concrete plans, and I think a lot of people left with no more knowledge than when they started,” she said.
“Questions put to the council were around concerns of noise impact, air pollution, traffic off Mottram Old Road and limited availability on trains. People just want clear answers around these issues.
“For me, one thing that’s important is commuting to work on the train into Manchester. Even now, it’s hard to get a seat and they can’t add any more carriages.”
‘Save Tameside Greenbelt’, a group originally set up in 2016 to protect greenbelts across Tameside from the impact of the then proposed Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, have already contacted Northern Rail about the impact the garden village could have on the trains.
The group state they received the following from Nathan Oldfield, a member of the Customers Solutions Team at Northern Rail, which reads: “I can confirm that, unfortunately, it is not possible to operate more trains along the Hadfield/Glossop-Manchester Piccadilly route due to infrastructure constraints on the single-track section between Glossop/Hadfield and Dinting, plus the section between Guide Bridge and Manchester Piccadilly.
“It is also not currently possible to operate longer trains due to platform lengths along the route, but we will continue to monitor volume of passengers using the trains and any approvals for development close to stations along the route.”
The green group is not only concerned about transport and travel however.
They say GPs, dentists and high schools are all a concern as locally they are already oversubscribed, and building more than 2,000 homes will exacerbate the problem.
Charlotte said: “The housing site would be near Alder Community High School. There are three pupil applicants for every place there, so it’s already causing local people to be pushed out.
“I think we should always look at building on brownfield first. Around here there are lots of town centres that need investment to improve, rather than directing those funds away on a new development.
“Obviously there is a need for housing and affordable housing, but these are aspirational houses that aren’t going to be affordable for most.
“I think there is a general consensus that we should fully consider the areas that are brownfield now, rather than looking at green belt.”
Greater Manchester Combined Authority recognised the development as having the potential to satisfy as much as a quarter of Tameside’s housing requirements over the next 10-15 years, but opponents believe this comes at too high a cost.
The scheme would involve building up to 2,350 homes of all types and is one of the largest and most ambitious regeneration programmes in the North West.
It would stretch from Mottram Old Road across to Hattersley and Hattersley Station, towards Godley Station and to Alder Community High School.
A dedicated website for the masterplan - aimed at delivering economic and residential growth - can be found at www.godleygreen.com with the council securing £10m in grant funding from Homes England to carry out their plans.
Godley Green project lead Cllr Ged Cooney, previously stated: “We want Godley Green to be a thriving, sustainable and beautiful community based on garden village principles.”
While Cllr Oliver Ryan, Tameside Council’s executive member for finance and economic growth, stated: “Godley Green is a radically new concept in terms of housing developments.
“Not only is it clean and green, it represents a break from the old piecemeal methods. An integral feature of that break is the involvement of the public at every stage.”
But the ‘Save Tameside Greenbelt’ group says the development must be stopped in its tracks and is encouraging people to share their opinions, so they are recorded properly.
They have set up a petition called ‘Save the Greenbelt in Hyde (Godley Green)’ that has attracted more than 1,600 signatures.
Many of those showing support are local people that use the green belt for cycling, rambling or dog walking. There’s also a local horse riding school, Godley Stud Farm, that has operated on the land for 30 years.
You can add your voice at you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-greenbelt-in-hyde-godley-green.
Fundraising for the distribution and printing of leaflets, legal representation and other aspects of Save Tameside Greenbelt’s campaign has also begun. The target of £5,000 has been set. To donate you can visit gofundme.com/f/save-hydes-greenbelt-godley-green online.
To find out more about the group you can also search for ‘Save Tameside Greenbelt’ on Facebook.
Garden communities were a government initiative first muted in 2019 to provide new housing, infrastructure, jobs and services in sustainable settlements and meet a demand to build 300,000 new homes a year on average.
However, ‘Save Tameside Greenbelt’ point out that following the pandemic, the value of greenbelt areas has been highlighted and encouraged for exercise, walking, running and cycling and to help improve people’s mental health.
You can hear more on the Reporter Show on Tameside Radio 103.6FM today (Thursday) at 7pm.
Main image:
FLASHBACK: ‘Save Tameside Greenbelt’ was formed in 2016, joining forces to stage protests in response to plans proposed in the Greater Manchester Spacial Framework to build on greenbelt across Tameside. Now they are battling against the plans to create a Godley Green Garden Village on greenbelt. Above, campaigners on the march in 2017 between Stalybridge and Gee Cross.
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