MUCH of a former Greenfield paper mill, which was destroyed by fire, is to be demolished.
The former warehouses, raw materials store and boiler house, along with smaller ancillary buildings at what was Greenfield, known as Robert Fletcher’s, will be cleared.
That will pave the way for a residential redevelopment – the former social club has already been separately earmarked for four homes.
But applicants Whiteoak Limited have been told the structure, which has laid empty since it closed in 2001, cannot come down until paperwork regarding bats has been secured.
A decision by Oldham Council states: “The demolition is likely to cause harm to soprano pipistrelle and common pipistrelle bats and shall not in any circumstances commence unless the local planning authority has been provided with either a licence issued by Natural England pursuant to Regulation 55 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, authorising the specified activity/development go ahead.
“Or a statement in writing from the relevant licensing body or local planning authority to the effect that it does not consider that the specified development will require a licence.”
Construction of Greenfield started in 1794 as a woollen mill and it became the site of Robert Fletcher Ltd, a manufacturer of cigarette papers and fine tissues.
In the latter part of the 1990s, both that and Stoneclough Mill – near Bolton – were in financial difficulty because of the increase in the cost of raw materials and energy.
Fletcher’s closed Stoneclough Mill in 2000 to create more jobs at Greenfield, but the severity of their financial crisis caused an overnight closure in July 2001.
In August 2024, much of the building, situated near Dive Stone Reservoir, was destroyed or badly damaged by fire.
Now documents for the demolition of all but three buildings – the time office, turbine house and filter house – state: “Whiteoak Limited, the landowner, is developing a residential-led masterplan for the mill site.
“The emerging masterplan has been informed by the findings of a range of technical and viability studies and has been submitted to Oldham Council for pre-application advice.
“This process has been paused to allow the examination in public of Places for Everyone Joint Development Plan (Greater Manchester) to determine the future allocation of the site.”
In giving the go ahead, Oldham Council planning officers stated: “The building will be soft stripped with machine demolition of the building and the grubbing up of foundations and hard standings.
“As the buildings are to be demolished, an assessment of whether the building is likely to be used by bats has been undertaken, including dusk surveys.
“Bat roosts have been identified.
“In addition, a precautionary method of working will be required to ensure disturbance to great crested newt within the adjacent ponds is avoided, along with ensuring the absence of nesting birds.
“Given the location of the building, the proposed method of demolition is acceptable.
“Measures to protect ecological assets and adjacent trees will be required. These are subject to recommended conditions.”
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