HMR in court

A GROUP of Derker residents are in London today for their David and Goliath challenge to plans to demolish hundreds of homes.

The Derker Action Group has 11 members at the High Court in The Strand, to support their barrister, Robert McCracken, a Queen’s Counsel who specialises in planning and land-use cases.

They are challenging the Secretary of State’s decision to agree to Oldham Council’s compulsory purchase order on 200 terraced homes in the Housing Market Renewal area.
The two-day case could be a landmark as towns and cities across the country carry out Housing Market Renewal projects in run-down areas where the Government fears the homes market is in danger of collapse.

The Derker campaigners say improvements and refurbishment should be available for people who wish to stay in their homes.

The case is being brought by in the name of Abbotsford Road resident Gerald Mortell (57), who has already won a High Court case in 2007, when a judge quashed Oldham Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the Derker regeneration scheme.