Your views on the views

OLDHAM’S scenic landscapes have been compiled in a special document for the public to comment on.

Its seven main types of vista, from moorland, to valleys and suburban/industrial settlements, are spelled out in a Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) to be made available in libraries and on the council’s website.

Oldhamers will then be able to say whether they agree with the seven characteristic landscape areas that have been identified.

They are south Pennine moors; the moorland fringe; Chadderton’s rolling hills; the settled Tame Valley with industry, farms and suburbs but rural valley sides; the Beal Valley where landscape is in transition; the mixed Medlock Valley with suburbs, recreation and the M60 corridor; and the Wharmton undulating uplands above Greenfield and Grasscroft.

The character assessment will be part of the Local Development Framework (LDF), the council’s planning blueprint.

The LDF will finally be tested at a public inquiry by a planning inspector to make sure it is sound, and based on robust and credible evidence, next year.

The landscape assessment has been shelved since 2005, when it was first drawn up by consultants Ferguson McIlveen, because parts of it went into detailed land management issues.

But executive director of regeneration, Tom Flanagan, now believes it should be used for the Local Development Framework evidence.

Ferguson McIlveen’s assessment is that the Pennine moorland dominates Oldham’s rural landscape, and that close relationships and contrasts between the wild uplands and the urban areas are special features.

The close proximity of towns means there are good opportunities for accessing and enjoying the landscape, while the Pennines and its urban centres are showing positive signs of regenerating the economy and environment of the region.

But the unique character is vulnerable to land changes and inappropriate development, and the landscape must be protected, enhanced and interpreted alongside a growing economy.