AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST and popular television presenter John Stapleton has given Diggle Community Association a boost in their fight to prevent the Village Green from being developed for housing by offering his support.
The green, a small plot opposite Diggle Chippy on Huddersfield Road, has been a recreational space for residents since the 1920s as well as a spot for community events.
But after being identified as a development opportunity, planning approval was granted by Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council for First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) to build two houses on the site.
Keen to save the treasured area, the DCA has campaigned vigorously against FCHO’s plans, which are now on hold awaiting the decision of the DCA’s application to register the land officially as a village green.
When he became aware of the threat to the green, John, who grew up on Spurn Lane in Diggle, said: “The application to apply for village green status has my whole-hearted support.
“Like members of generation after generation I loved playing in that area and feel strongly that it should be kept green.”
John added he has fond recollections of annual bonfire-night celebrations on the green, an event typical of the valuable role the land played in fostering a sense of community in the village.
Similar events held on the area nowadays include the annual Christingle service and Christmas light switch-on.
OMBC’s Commons Registration Committee will decide whether the land can be registered as a village green at a meeting at the end of November.
The DCA agrees there is a need for more affordable housing in the village but argues this is not an appropriate site as development would lead to the loss of valuable green space in the heart of the village.
They argue too that FCHO and lawyers acting on their behalf have said in recent statements concerning the land and in their objection to the village green application that there is no “entity known to law as Diggle” and the village is “not a cohesive entity that would be understood by those living in the area as their ‘neighbourhood’.”
When informed of FCHO’s claims, John remarked: “As for claims that Diggle isn’t really a village well that is, frankly, just plain ludicrous.”
The DCA said FCHO have tried to justify such assertions on the grounds that only people from a small part of the village ever use the land – but a survey conducted in December demonstrated that residents from all over Diggle identify themselves as users of it.
DCA Chair Stuart Coleman said: “The survey we conducted showed, overwhelmingly, that local people use this space and value it.
“At FCHO’s consultation last November, the majority of Diggle residents pointed out this is not an appropriate site as development here would lead to the loss of valuable green space in the heart of the village, a recreational amenity and a vital part of the village’s heritage and community identity.”
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