A DERELICT Greenfield mill will be given a new lease of life as an apartment complex despite objections from a long-standing village business.
Hartley Botanic asked for a deferment or refusal of the application for 38 apartments at run down Knoll Mill, sited opposite the greenhouse and glasshouse manufacturers on Wellington Road.
But Oldham Planning Committee voted unanimously – subject to conditions – to approve the mill re-development, including the addition of two extra floors and a lift tower at its August meeting.
A mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments will eventually be provided but no affordable housing due to reduced profit margins because of the retention of the mill and size of scheme.
Parking for 38 vehicles and cycle storage provision will also be included in the conversion of the Victorian building which is a non-designated, heritage asset.
Addressing officers and councillors on behalf of Hartley Botanic, Caroline Tamworth said: “The company is a major employer in the area and has operated from the site for over 80 years.
“The approval of this development as it stands could put the future operations of this site into jeopardy. So Hartley Botanic strongly objects to the development.
“They are particularly concerned about the impact the construction phase of the development will have on the use of their access, particularly if the road becomes narrowed with the construction of scaffolding and safety barriers.
“The larger vehicles simply cannot navigate a narrow road and there is only one option for loading and unloading the frequent delivery of raw materials to the site and the outgoing finished products.
“This would have severe operational consequences for the business. In addition, the drainage information submitted with this application is not detailed enough.
“While several options for surface drainage may have been highlighted it has not been proven if any of these will be adequate to enable the development to go ahead without exacerbating the current situation.
“There is a long history of severe drainage problems in this part of the village with premises, including Hartley Botanic, suffering flooding on a regular basis.
“United Utilities have been well aware of the situation which has been occurring for years and it is surprising and worrying that they and the Environment Agency have not addressed this in their consultation responses or requested more rigorous of detailed investigations into the development before a decision is made.
“Connecting additional properties to the system is going to have a catastrophic effect if the correct drainage system isn’t implemented.
“The lack of detail is unacceptable for a major development scheme in an area falling in a recognised flood zone.
“The drainage details appear to focus on safe guarding the new development rather than existing ones.
“It is our view that more detailed assessment, addressing the current flooding problems is required before planning approval is granted because it is fundamental to the scheme.
“For these reasons, the proposed development should be refused as it stands or at least deferred until additional detail is requested from the applicants with regards to the drainage.”
Planning Officer Steve Gill said: “I have spoken to the lead local flood authority in relation to the flood risk assessment submitted by the applicant.
“They do put forward a range of options but at this stage they haven’t fixed which options they will choose to attenuate any additional surface water that comes as part of the development.
“But what the LFA say is what is being put forward is not considered to be unreasonable and it is not considered to be undeliverable.
“So they feel comfortable in recommending a condition in relation to surface water on that basis.”
Head of Planning Peter Richards added: “We cannot require a new development to fix existing problems; it can only not make them worse.”
Saddleworth Parish Council had previously expressed concerns in relation to the scale of the proposed building, with the planned addition of two extra floors.
Oldham Council’s Arboricultural Officer also raised worries over the future of a row of trees facing the mill building.
Recommended approval Mr Gill said: “It is difficult to renovate these mills and get developer contributions because it is expensive to retain and refurbish them.
“The development will provide a strong contribution to housing provision in Oldham and given the scale of the building, prominence and very poor condition, the re-development of the building would significantly enhance the area.
“There are some matters not in favour of the application but these matters have been given limited weight in the planning balance. And it is considered the benefits outweigh the harm.”
As part of the conditions and prior to the start of development, a Construction Environment Management Plan (CEMP) must be submitted and approved by OMBC and developed in consultation with Hartley Botantic.
What a surprise Oldham Planning Committee is not listening to common sense objections. And these won’t be affordable housing so once again they’re putting profit before welfare
Wrong place big Waggons coming and going all the time with delivery. Children walking passed and old people. Going to be an accident. And we’re do the workers park and the people in the flats. And when we have Ruby and football on . We’re do all the cars park. We need a petrol station more than flats.😡😡
If a petrol station was commercially viable then Saddleworth would still have one.
The whole country needs houses and the provision of more homes in Saddleworth can only help our children and grandchildren to stay in the area by releasing other houses.
My Winterbottam ancestors , who were mostly clothiers, lived in the Saddleworth area in the 17th and 18th centuries, so it is wonderful that an old mill can be recycled as modern accomodation. The plan looks great.
Great the that the mill will be used and massively improved, but has anyone thought of the need for more GP’s, more schools and better healthcare premises. Surely building more houses means more people, means people needing more appointments that the healthcare are already struggling with. The government are trying to make a greener environment but are making getting to places difficult, hence the need to drive everywhere. Saddleworth probably gives the most council tax and never get anything back.