Inquiry into mum’s bid to save ‘greens’

SAVE OUR GREENS . . . Protest organiser Ann Day with husband Peter and neighbours in the background

OPEN land at Chadderton was part of daily life for residents, a public inquiry heard yesterday.

Football and cricket were played and there were carols on the periphery in winter, said resident Ann Day of Lindale Avenue.

For that reason, residents of the Crossley estate and nearby Fold Green wanted the open land to be protected with Town Green status.

But Oldham Council, as landowners, opposed the application

So independent barrister Giles Cannock was appointed to act as inspector and deliver his findings to the Town Green registration committee in Oldham.

Under cross-examination, Mrs Day admitted that fewer children played on the field now and that drainage on what they called the “greens” was often a problem. But she said any development there would drive a wedge between the Crossley estate of council property and the private Fold Green estate.

Mrs Day said she had held a public meeting over the proposed Town Green issue at St Saviour’s Church, Chadderton and more than 100 people attended.

Mother of two Patricia Meredith, of the Meads, Chadderton, recalled how she played on the fields as a child. And now the “greens” were a safe place for her children to play.

Margaret McPhail of Lindale Avenue said the ground had been used by residents for many years.

It was a safe environment and contributed towards a sense of community, she said.

Roger Barry of Lindale Avenue agreed the “greens” engendered a feeling of community spirit and he wanted to see them preserved.

But Lynn Phillips, a housing officer with the Gateways to Oldham regeneration project, said the land was poorly drained and footpaths were often flooded.

She said she had never seen anyone playing football on the fields and added that the Crossley Estate had some of the worst deprivation in Oldham.

She said a new community centre, opened for youngsters of the streets, had stopped them vandalising the area.

But she said the Crossley and Fold Green estates were two completely separate communities and they had called the new centre Crossfold in a bid to try to bring the communities together.

The inquiry and the council case continue.