Save Royton's Greenbelt

“HOW TO OBJECT” to the GMCA proposals to build on Royton’s Greenbelt

WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU SEND A LETTER OR EMAIL OF OBJECTION TO THE GMCA RATHER THAN USING THEIR COMPLICATED ONLINE PORTAL.  THEY MUST RECEIVE THEM BEFORE MONDAY 18TH MARCH.

A letter template can be downloaded from further down this page or you can follow the steps below.  

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Whilst you will have your own personal reasons for objecting to the proposals, some objections carry more influence with Planning Committees than others.  Below is a guide to help you to include some of those important points to make your objections more effective. I have outlined some relevant comments for two of the proposed Royton sites that can be tailored to be used, alongside your own comments, regarding other proposed sites.  You can object to as many allocations as you wish. 

It is IMPORTANT to put your objections in your own words, but try to include as many of the examples I have outlined below, as these carry maximum weight with the planning committees.  Please add any other relative personal experiences/reasons for your opposition to the plans. Enter these into the comments boxes. 

Every person in your household, over the age of 13, should send an objection to each site. The wording can be the same or similar but you need to change the name (and email address if emailed). You should object to as many sites as you can. (You can put several objection letters from multiple family members in one envelope).

For postal responses the address is: Planning Team Consultation, ​GMCA, Churchgate House, 56 Oxford Street, Manchester. ​M1 6EU. 

For email responses the address is: planningandhousing@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk

​In your objection letter, you MUST include:

1. Your Name, Address AND Postcode.

2. ​The details of the site you are responding to e.g: GM ALLOCATION 17 – HANGING CHADDER/ GM ALLOCATION 21 – THORNHAM OLD RD/ GM ALLOCATION 14 – BEAL VALLEY.

3. You must complete a separate letter/email for each site you are objecting to.

• I strongly OPPOSE any proposals to build houses on the [GM Allocation 17 – Hanging Chadder/ GM Allocation 21 – Thornham Old Road/GM Allocation 14 – Beal Valley] for the following reasons:

• I often walk along [street, road,] with my [children, dog, family etc] and currently enjoy [……]

• To build houses on this site would ruin the open views of the countryside between [Royton/Shaw/ Oldham/ Rochdale/ our villages] and create Urban Sprawl.

• My[child/grandchild] currently attends [name school/nursery/playgroup] and [walk there & back daily]. Increased traffic on [road name] would add to the Road Safety danger for [them/him/her].

• The increased traffic on [road name] would also add to the already high pollution levels in this area at [busy/school drop off and pickup/ rush hour…] times.

• I tried to get my [child/grandchild] into [e.g. school/nursery/play group] but it was over-subscribed so had to send my [child/grandchild] to [e.g. school/nursery/ play group]. How are our local schools going to cope with more children applying for places?

• I recently tried to get a doctor’s appointment for [e.g. myself/mother/son] at [e.g.Royton Health Centre] and the soonest appointment was [e.g. 4 weeks time].  We cannot cope with any more people putting a further strain on our GP service.

• I needed to make an appointment for [e.g. myself/mother/son] at our [NHS Dentist/ Physio/ Hospital etc] and the soonest possible appointment was [e.g. 4 weeks time].

• I had to attend Oldham A & E Dept at Oldham Royal Hospital with my [e.g. mother/daughter] at [time of day] and it was mayhem with waiting time [give details]. With no A&E department at Rochdale Infirmary, where are these new residents supposed to get Emergency care?

• I work in [town/area] and commute by [car/bicycle/foot/bus/train etc]. The traffic on [name of road] at [give times of day] is already terrible, with nose to tail traffic from [where to where]. Any more traffic on this road would cause [pollution/car exhaust gases/road safety issues].

• I work in [town/area] and commute by [bus/train etc]. The Public Transport in this area is already extremely poor with no direct access to the Metrolink or Train Services meaning I am forced to [drive/catch bus] to the [tram/train] stop in [e.g. Shaw/Oldham/Rochdale] With no possibility to extend the Metrolink to Royton, more properties in this area will only add traffic to the already gridlocked local roads…. [Increased pollution/ journey time/road safety etc.].

• I [live/have friends that live] very close to the proposed housing site at [Hanging Chadder/ Thornham Old Road] and [I/they] experience frequent flooding, which spills onto [our/their] property. The loss of trees and natural ground cover on this site will worsen this problem.

• The current water supply, drainage and sewer systems in Royton date from the 19th century and are already at full capacity. A recent sewer collapse closed the main Rochdale to Oldham Road between GM17 - Hanging Chadder and GM21 – Thornham Old Road for a whole week.

• I am concerned about our local wildlife [and flora] that exists on the proposed sites. We regularly see [newts/water voles/badgers/bats/migrating geese etc. at…be specific. Could these be endangered, protected species?  Some flora (plants) are protected too] Any development in this area would have a serious detrimental effect on these [name species].

• During heavy rain, the drains on [road name] cannot cope with the increased water and we regularly experience flooding on [road name]. Any increase in housing will worsen this problem.

• Royton appears to be expected to take an unreasonable share of the burden of proposed homes, which should be wider spread wider across Oldham Borough and the rest of Greater Manchester.

• The fact that none of these planned houses would be classed as “affordable” leads me to believe that this is no more than a strategy of Oldham Council to build executive homes in a highly marketable area and will do nothing to help our local young people get a foot on the property ladder. A more sensible idea would be affordable housing in Oldham Town Centre that is an area already well positioned on The Metrolink with direct links to Manchester and beyond.

• There are many brownfield sites and land with existing planning permission in the borough. Use of these brownfield sites would also help to regenerate some of our run-down areas and provide affordable housing for our local younger generation with growing families. 

THE FOLLOWING 2 POINTS ARE SPECIFIC TO GM ALLOCATION 17 – HANGING CHADDER.

• The main Castleton Road proposed access point, designed to serve more than 75% of the properties on the development, is within 100 metres of Thornham Saint James Primary School, which sees around 240 children aged between 4yrs and 11yrs arrive and be collected on each school day.  This already causes double parking on both sides of this stretch of Castleton Road and other neighbouring residential streets. Any increase in traffic at this location would greatly increase the potential for an innocent child to be fatally injured. 

• The other access point proposed directly onto Rochdale Road appears to be between two blocks of terraced properties, obscuring the view, both left and right, to motorists trying to egress onto a busy main road. Rochdale Road is the main arterial route between Rochdale and Oldham and already experiences a large volume of traffic at all times of the day and night.

THE FOLLOWING 2 POINTS ARE SPECIFIC TO GM ALLOCATION 21 – THORNHAM OLD RD.

• There are no clear access points to this proposed site so I assume access will need to be gained from Thornham Old Road which becomes an unadopted lane from where the current houses cease.  This lane currently provides safe access to hikers, dog-walkers and horse-riders to paths extending to the Tandle Hill Country Park and its iconic War Memorial. Any increase in traffic at this location will greatly reduce the safety and enjoyment of walkers, heading for the Country Park.

• The junction of Thornham Old Road and Rochdale Road, the main arterial road between Oldham and Rochdale, would become a major crossroad junction with Thornham Lane. This is already a difficult and potentially dangerous intersection which would become even more dangerous.

PLEASE COMPLETE THE SAME PROCESS FOR EACH SITE, FOR EACH MEMBER OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD.  EVERY LETTER WILL MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE – THANK YOU!

You must use objections that carry weight with the GMCA

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PLEASE OBJECT TO ALL YOUR LOCAL SITES AS THESE WILL AFFECT THE STRAIN ON THE EXISTING LOCAL RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE.  MANY OF THE POINTS RAISED HERE ARE RELEVANT TO A LOT OF THE OTHER LOCAL PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT SITES.

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PLEASE COMPLETE THE SAME PROCESS FOR EACH SITE OF INTEREST TO YOU THEN SUBMIT THE FORMS. YOU HAVE TO THEN GIVE SOME MORE PERSONAL INFORMATION TO FINISH THE PROCESS.

REMEMBER, THE GMCA APPEAR TO HAVE DELIBERATELY MADE THIS PROCESS COMPLICATED TO PUT YOU OFF OBJECTING. DO NOT GIVE IN TO THEM. YOU MAY HOWEVER, FIND IT EASIER TO SEND A WRITTEN RESPONSE BY POST OR EMAIL.

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