Residents present their objections to councillors regarding proposed Middleton development

Public exhibition of the proposed development

A presentation was given to members of the Middleton Township committee on Thursday (17 July) by residents who are against a proposed housing development on land around Hollin Lane and Langley Lane.

Led by Bren Tierney, the presentation explained to councillors why residents from the area are against the development and informed other Middleton residents of how they can object to the plans if they wish to.

Taylor Wimpey plan to develop 205 homes on land off of Hollin Lane, around St Anne’s Academy with another 152 homes built on a separate plot of land off Langley Lane.

Bren said: “If this development goes ahead, it will destroy the only remaining belt of open protected green farm land between central Manchester and Bamford - creating one long continuous urban sprawl reaching some 12 miles. The development will also ruin people’s livelihoods as people have horses on those fields.”

Bren also criticised Taylor Wimpey’s consultation with the public stating that, “it wasn’t a consultation. It was for people who wanted to buy a new house.

"If you went to them to discuss buying a house then they were all over you. They ignored people asking for a consultation and ignored residents already from the area.”

It is understood that Taylor Wimpey hopes to start the development in summer 2015 and aims to build 50 homes per year over the next seven years.

Planning permission has not yet been submitted to the council but council officers are expecting that it will be submitted soon.

Bren added: “If this goes ahead then Middleton will lose its identity and will be merged with Heywood. Taylor Wimpey have already shown that the opinions of the people from Middleton don’t matter and that what the elected officials say doesn’t matter. If people don’t want this development to go ahead then they need to act now because we know that this planning application is coming.”

Councillor Neil Emmott has previously stated that he is against the development and reiterated that during the meeting. He said: “I have made it clear publicly and have made my feelings clear to Taylor Wimpey regarding this development. These people have a lot of money and have a lot of power but that doesn’t mean they can walk all over us. I will oppose this to the bitter end.”

Councillor Peter Williams added: “The councillors will listen to the people of Middleton and will fight for what is important.”

The Taylor Wimpey development has been revised in recent months with the development losing shops and gaining a community building with plans to provide a pedestrian crossing and road improvements also added.