Council house plan axed

PEOPLE power has persuaded housing chiefs to shelve controversial plans to build council houses on a Royton estate.

Residents have won their battle to stop the development on the Holly estate, which would have been the first council homes built in Oldham for decades.

They came out in force against the proposal to build 21 two, three and four-bedroom family houses on land off Thorp Road and Leyburn Avenue.

While they welcome new social housing, they were angry that it would mean losing garages, parking spaces and green areas used by children. There were also concerns it would be an overdevelopment, cause traffic chaos and result in a shortage of parking spaces.

More than 50 locals flooded a public meeting at Royton’s Moravian Church last week to protest to First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO), which manages Oldham’s housing stock and had drawn up the plans.

The residents said the community was in uproar and a petition had already collected 700 signatures.

But at a board meeting , FCHO, backed by Oldham Council, unanimously agreed to defer the plans.

FCHO board chairman Harry Burns said: “Providing more new homes to rent is really crucial, especially in these difficult times. Demand for our homes continues to grow, but where and how new homes are developed needs to be carefully planned. We’ve listened to Holly residents and their concerns about traffic and car parking and will not be pursuing this particular scheme.”

With the waiting list for council homes soaring to 12,000, the scheme was one of several housing chiefs are planning to help ease the crisis.

Other social housing schemes planned include Byron Green, Hollinwood, where a private development to build 32 properties that ground to a halt because of the credit crunch has been rescued by a partnership.

A further four properties are planned in Clyde Street, Watersheddings, and five in Hawthorn Road, Hollinwood, with consultation to be held with residents.