Survey results show opposition to controversial plans for Littleborough

A questionnaire distributed by local Conservative councillors has found most respondents oppose the controversial Littleborough Supplementary Planning Document proposals.

The questionnaire was devised and distributed by Conservative councillors and candidates to “capture public opinion” with all feedback being passed to council officers. Five thousand questionnaires were printed, with half being handed out in the village centre and shops, with the remainder being hand-delivered to houses, working from the centre outwards.

The results of the survey found the majority of respondents opposed the proposals for Hare Hill Road and Victoria Street, dropping to around two-thirds opposing plans for the station and canal-side areas.

The draft Littleborough station area Supplementary Planning Document seeks to ‘improve’ the area, particularly around key sites like the railway station, while ‘retaining Littleborough’s distinctive character’ and ‘village feel.’

The proposals include the redevelopment of brownfield land for a small number of new homes and the refurbishment of the railway arches and disused buildings for new commercial uses.

The document also suggests demolishing the ‘low quality existing buildings’ on Victoria Street and replacing them with new commercial units.

These units are currently occupied by small businesses including Hooson and Stuttard Opticians and Littleborough Podiatry.
 

Read more: Demolition proposals could ‘destroy businesses’ and should be dropped from ‘massive’ regeneration plan, councillor claimsPublished: 29 September 2021

 

Read more: Plans for regenerating area around Littleborough railway station have ‘blighted’ small businesses in the village, claims councillorPublished: 09 September 2021

Wardle and West Littleborough ward councillor John Taylor said plans for Littleborough centre “must be removed from the plan” and the council should “think again” regarding the other two areas.

The Conservative councillor has previously spoken out about how Victoria Street should not have been included in the plan, whilst the document should focus on the station area, not the wider village.

He said: “Opposition to the Victoria Street element of the plan could hardly be any stronger. In addition, this location is nowhere near the train station and has no place in any transport plan regarding it.

“This element must now be removed from the plan in its entirety.

“With regard to those locations close to the train station, people are not opposed to change per se, but the identity and integrity of our village must be protected.

“The proposals threaten to destroy the heart of our village and pile further pressure onto what is already an overloaded infrastructure. High-density housing, more vehicular traffic on narrowed roads and the creation of a café culture is not what the residents of Littleborough want.

“Thank you to all those who have taken the time to respond and return those questionnaires – your views are very important and must now be listened to. I understand the number of responses returned is similar to the total number received for the Rochdale SPD consultation process which gives some perspective on just how important this is to local residents.

“I have personally hand-delivered all the questionnaires and emails received to council officers so they can be fed into the official consultation process.”

Mark Robinson, director of economy at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “We recently completed an eight-week consultation on our proposals for Littleborough and have held a number of public events to give residents and businesses an opportunity to speak to officers about our plans and ask questions.

“We will now consider the comments we’ve received as part of this consultation and undertake further studies or investigations, if required, before taking any further proposals to members [councillors].”
 

Read more: View the September 2021 draft of the Littleborough Station Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) on the council web site.