Council homes uproar

The residents are protesting about a proposed housing development on the Holly estate.

RESIDENTS have come out in force against building the first council houses in Oldham for decades.

With the waiting list for council homes soaring to 12,000, housing chiefs are planning to build new properties to help ease the crisis.

But residents on the Holly Estate are furious at one of the locations earmarked, saying a scheme to build 21 new homes on Thorp Road and Leyburn Avenue will cause overdevelopment and mean losing garages, parking spaces and green areas used by children.

More than 50 locals flooded a public meeting at Royton’s Moravian Church to protest to First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO), which manages Oldham’s housing stock and has drawn up the plans.

One resident said: “The community is in uproar about it.”

Royton North Councillor Tony Larkin said: “It’s disappointing in one respect as we are desperately short of social housing in Royton and this would have been the first time in 40 years that properties would be built in Oldham by the council.

“But I understand people’s fears and concerns, particularly in relation to traffic, which is a major issue, and the loss of open space.

“I would like to think there’s a compromise but the feeling of people is that they don’t want it at any price.”

FCHO chief executive Hugh Broadbent, who faced the residents, said the plans were at a very early stage and more consultation was now needed to see if they can progress.

He said: “We were testing the water in Royton to see how residents feel. It’s an area where there’s high demand for rented housing from us. We are proposing two, three and four-bedroom family houses that are in short supply. We will now take stock and then have further serious discussions.”

Other social housing schemes planned include Byron Green, Hollinwood, where a private development to build 32 properties that ground to a halt because of the credit crunch has been rescued by a partnership.

A further four properties are planned in Clyde Street, Watersheddings, and Hawthorne Road, Hollinwood, with consultation to be held with residents.