Skids put under salt storage site

GRIT row . . . Councillor Rod Blyth, left, and Paul Cartwright at the Buckstones Road storage building

A LONG-AWAITED grit storage site has had to close after it was revealed it had no planning permission.

Oldham Council was approached by a local private contractor offering the use of the site at Buckstones Road to store 2,000 tonnes of extra salt, during the bad weather.

Paul Cartwright, who lives on the road, wrote to the council to complain that it had no permission and that he had not been consulted over the plans.

“The first thing I knew about this plan, was when five 40 tonne wagons came past my house,” he said.

“The council hasn’t done a risk assessment or anything — these wagons come round the back of my house at a 45 degree angle so I dread to think what would happen if one ploughed into my home.

“There’s been no correspondence whatsoever, not a letter, a phone call, a visit — not anything.

“I don’t care if they apply for retrospective permission — they are not storing grit there.”

Shaw councillor, Rod Blyth, added: “The whole thing is cack-handed. The highways department put it there, they didn’t check it had planning permission, nor was there any consultation with local councillors.”

Saddleworth residents have long complained about a lack of gritting in the villages during wintery weather that makes it difficult to drive on treacherous roads.

Saddleworth Parish Council was told last month that the small depot storing grit had been set up to help stop Saddleworth grinding to a halt after snowfall.

Councillor Jean Stretton, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said an initial pilot was agreed to run between January 1 until March 31, 2012 to asses the benefit of this extra storage space in keeping Oldham’s roads moving regardless of the weather.

She added: “So far the trial has been a great success, enabling the council to store more salt and reducing response times for crews to get out on the road in harsh weather conditions.

“After using the site for this purpose for a short time, it became apparent that the contractor did not have the necessary planning permission.

“We have since advised the contractor to seek retrospective planning permission.

“However until this issue is resolved, we will not be using the site to store additional supplies.”