Council resolves to grant planning consent for Godley Green Garden Village

2,150 new homes, plus extensive community amenities and accessible green space approved

Tameside Council today (March 18th) resolved to grant planning consent for revised proposals for Godley Green Garden Village. 

The news follows yesterday’s announcement of £17.4 million of funding towards upfront enabling works and supporting infrastructure from Greater Manchester Combined Authority as part of the latest wave of the GM Good Growth funding.

Godley Green Garden Village will provide up to 2,150 new homes, in addition to a host of community facilities and amenities, including a new primary school, sports pitches, two local centres (offering retail, leisure, health care and community facilities), allotments, extensive play areas, parks and formal gardens, plus natural greenspaces. The development is aiming to be a best practice example for how new communities are designed and delivered.

In summer 2024 the Council, in its role as applicant, entered an agreement with MADE Partnership to progress delivery arrangements for Godley Green Garden Village. 

Commenting on today’s news, Councillor Eleanor Wills, Leader of Tameside Council, said:

“This resolution to grant consent is ultimately the result of our forming a strategic partnership with MADE so that we could address the opportunity in the best possible way, and I look forward to watching its progress.”

The MADE Partnership and Tameside venture will be responsible for overseeing and managing the development of the garden village over 15 years approximately, taking responsibility for the overall vision and strategy, and coordinating the wide range of stakeholders involved.

Made Partnership is a joint venture between Barratt Redrow plc, Homes England and Lloyds Banking Group, having been established to provide the expertise, vision and financial capacity to successfully deliver large scale and complex developments, such as Godley Green Garden Village.

It will fund and install the primary and community infrastructure, create serviced parcels of land for housebuilders to build a variety of private and affordable homes, deliver an ambitious social value strategy, and ensure robust long-term stewardship is put in place.

The Council and MADE Partnership have been working to test and evolve previously approved proposals to ensure that the permission is for a development that is deliverable.

Additional technical and design work has been undertaken, and amendments have been made to the proposals which, along with revisions to the consolidation of planning conditions and contributions to community infrastructure, have now been approved by the Council.

Commenting on the outcome of the work to bring the application forward, Cllr Wills said:

“The designs not only consider the importance of infrastructure and green spaces, but also the mix of people that come together to make a proper community. Godley Green will have homes for young couples and families, retirees, and single people, offering a range of sizes and tenures. We’ll create a natural, representative community from the outset, that works for toddlers all the way to their grandparents.

“The development has been thought through very carefully indeed and will be a welcome addition to Tameside whilst helping us fulfil our obligations to central government to provide more high-quality homes as our population grows,” added Cllr Wills.

Stephen Kinsella, managing director MADE Partnership, said: “This is a major step forward after a considerable amount of hard work and constructive engagement with our partners at Tameside Council and key stakeholders.

“We are planning a high-quality development where green space and community facilities are at the heart of its design.  Godley Green Garden Village will be a place where residents will be proud to live, work and relax.”     

MADE Partnership aims to submit a reserved matters planning application for the infrastructure required for the East Village in the Spring, with an initial housebuilding reserved matters application following shortly after.

MADE Partnership will deliver an extensive programme of initiatives to benefit the local community as well as make financial contributions benefitting local infrastructure and community facilities via a S106 Agreement.  It recently confirmed its sponsorship of two local grass roots sports clubs, providing funds for junior development at Hyde Cricket and Squash Club, and shirt sponsorship for the women’s team at Hyde United Football Club.