Quiz expert panel on £100m Foxdenton scheme

THE open green land will hold hundreds of houses as well as warehousing and other businesses

RESIDENTS are being given the chance to question an expert panel about the £100 million proposals for a business park and hundreds of new homes at Foxdenton, Chadderton.

Oldham Council is to hold a public meeting at Kingfisher School on Wednesday. The plans cover 49 hectares of green land.

The panel will be chaired by Oldham Chronicle managing editor David Whaley and will include council leader Jim McMahon, cabinet member for environment and housing Councillor Dave Hibbert and representatives from the council’s regeneration and planning teams.

The developer, Foxdenton LLP, will be represented and Oldham West and Royton MP, Michael Meacher, will attend if his schedule permits.

The plans include up to 500 homes, a 700,000 sq ft warehouse, a new link road and more than 20 acres of public open space between Broadway and Foxdenton Lane.

Most of the land is in private ownership, though the council owns land along Broadway.

Residents are concerned about the scale of the development, the loss of green space and wildlife, worsening drainage problems, flooding, increased traffic and road safety.

Hundreds of people have already attended public consultation meeetings, and a war of words has broken out between the protection group and councillors in the Chronicle’s letters page.

Councillor Hibbert said: “We understand projects like this can worry people. This is a chance to find out exactly what is going on.”