PLANS to build three houses next to a listed Lees pub have been approved, despite local opposition.
Saddleworth Parish Council came out against Punch Partnership’s proposal to place the properties on the car park of to The Grapes, on St John Street.
However, borough councillors narrowly voted through the application at a meeting of its planning committee.
Saddleworth Parish Council objected on the grounds of traffic impacts because of the close proximity of the site to two schools, St Edwards and Hey With Zion Primaries, and the loss of parking for an existing business.
It also stated a stone wall was removed on Beckett Street without planning permission.
But the trio of three-bedroomed properties was given the go ahead and documents supporting the application stated: “The houses have been designed to sympathetically relate with the Grade II Listed building in terms of materiality.
“The proposal will provide high quality, purpose built family homes, with a sensitive yet appealing aesthetic that complements the street scene.”
The meeting was told of suggestions there is an informal agreement in place with the pub’s owners for the existing car park to be used for school drop-off and pick-up.
However, the applicant insisted that was incorrect, since no such arrangements exist and of the 13 objections, many centred on what was termed ‘parking chaos’ because of the nearby schools.
And councillors themselves swayed during the meeting, with Cllrs Hazel Gloster and Peter Davis suggesting that it be refused, only for six of the 11-member committee to vote against.
When Marc Hince and Nadeem Iqbal moved it be approved, six voted in favour, sparking an angry reaction for Saddleworth West and Lees councillors Mark Kenyon and Sam Al-Hamdani.
Cllr Al-Hamdani said: “I really am staggered.
“I gave a clear, simple argument, backed by evidence, that there were material planning reasons to refuse the application to build three houses on the Grapes car park.
“For more than 30 years, people on Medlock Way have been left to cope with terrible traffic because of a poor planning decision to put two schools on the same cul-de-sac.
“This decision was, in my view, wrong from both a practical and a planning point of view, and will only make it worse.”
OMBC and planning proved that they are not concerned with traffic issues nor the safety of school children when they approved the building of the huge Greenfield Primary school, which accepts children from all over the borough. With regard to Greenfield, they are now having to review whether all side streets should be closed off to non-resident traffic. The plan was to have parents park at Tesco but a) this is not enforceable and so parents don’t do it, and b) I’m sure Tesco would object to 400 cars parking up there twice a day.
You STILL morning about the new Greenfield Primary School? Everyone else has moved on and are happy with it. Maybe you should move to the middle of nowhere where there are no cars or people