School plans approved - but campaigners to fight on

FUTURE vision . . . an artist’s impression of the new school

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CONTROVERSIAL plans to build a new £19.2million Saddleworth School in Diggle have been passed.

But campaigners have vowed to seek a judicial review after the planning committee voted unanimously to demolish the former WH Shaw Pallet Works in Huddersfield Road and build a 1,500-place secondary.

New traffic proposals for Huddersfield Road were also passed with only one vote against.

Opponents with concerns about traffic, flooding and the loss of historical buildings and Green Belt land, want the secondary school to be rebuilt on its existing site in Uppermill.

Mark Brooks, chairman of Diggle Community Association, addressed the committee on behalf of the objectors. He alleged the plans — which he said had attracted a record number of objections — were illegal and that the council had “manipulated” data to gain planning permission.

Accusing the council of “repetitive failure and consistent belligerence” in addressing concerns, he added: “It is very clear what is the priority here — the land swap deal, not what is best for the children of Saddleworth School.

“The planning officer’s perverse report asserts that the numerous harms associated with the Diggle proposal are ‘outweighed by the benefits it will bring’. All these benefits can also be achieved on the Uppermill site, without any of the associated harmful impacts on landscape, ecology, heritage, transport infrastructure and the communities of Uppermill and Diggle the proposed scheme will cause.”

Saddleworth School headteacher Matthew Milburn told councillors the new sch ool would be “so much more than just a building.”

“The vast majority of parents I speak to ask me when are they going to get this school built,” he added.

“Most are exasperated by the delays, many by the politics. They want us to get on with it.”

Parish councillor Keith Lucas, from Save Diggle Action Group, told the Chronicle after the meeting: “We are going to go for a judicial review. We will fight on. This must be the largest public objection in Oldham Council’s planning history but they are still not listening.”



CONSTRUCTION of the new school is expected to start this summer, with an opening date in spring 2018.
The building will range from one to three storeys. Some outdoor sports facilities, including football pitches, will be on Green Belt land.

The Grade-II listed office building and clock tower on the site will remain.