Godley Green Planning application to be reviewed in 2023

Outline planning consent for the Godley Green Garden Village which would bring 2,150 homes to Tameside was due to be considered by the Speakers Panel on Wednesday 21 December. The application will now need to be considered at a panel date in 2023.

The Council are unable to consider the application as planned due to statutory consultee National Highways extending their holding direction until February 8^th 2023 to allow them more time to review the impact of the development on the Strategic Road Network including the recent Government consent for the Mottram Bypass.

This means that the panel are not able to determine a decision on the application until all the requested information has been reviewed and responded to in full meaning a rescheduling is necessary. The Council will announce revised arrangements for considering and determining the application in due course.  

The Godley Green Outline Planning Application was validated by the Local Planning Authority in December 2021. Following consultation feedback received from both the public and statutory consultees, the Project Team then underwent the process of updating and refreshing a range of technical studies and surveys (Ecology, Ground, Archaeology and transport for example) to support the Environmental Statement element of the application. Preparatory works such as these are common practice for proposed developments of this scale and use government funding already secured for the project.

The plans designed around the Garden Village principles aim to ensure that all the physical and social infrastructure needed for the development will be on-site. Whilst framing the new homes sensitively around the existing landscape and scenery which will consist of a wide range of homes including a large proportion of affordable homes that will appeal to and meet the needs of everyone from first time buyers to older people looking to downsize.

Additional school places along with new health care services, retail and recreation facilities and all the necessary road infrastructure and utilities are all included in the plans. The size and scope of the development has been designed to ensure that the surrounding areas will not be overwhelmed.

The plans also involve major investment in greenspace and biodiversity to protect and enhance the natural habitats and increase current public access to the greenspace by nearly 50%.  Key to the plans are the benefits that will echo across the borough including the creation of at least 500 jobs each year over the 15-year development span bringing additional training and apprenticeship opportunities for Tameside local residents.

The next stage in the development process after planning determination will be to enter the process to find a developer partner that can support the Council’s vision for Godley.

For more information on the development got to www.godleygreen.com