Town green hope looks doomed

A proposal to make Beresfield field in Chadderton a town green could be halted next week.

The land, on the Oldham-Chadderton border at Busk, is off Garforth Street, and a public open space.

At one time it was suggested the site could be used for a Sure Start Children’s Centre, and local objector Tom Bebbington raised a petition to object to the planning application.

He also applied for the land to be classed as a town green to protect it from future development.

However, Mr Bebbington relied on the petition to support his case, but council officers say he has to prove the land has been used for sport and past-times for the past 20 years. The petition is not enough.

On Wednesday, Oldham Council’s Commons Registration Committee will hear that he has not been in contact since July last year, and will decide whether to take further action on his application.