Dear council bosses, please don’t build on green belt...
YOUNGSTER WRITES LETTER IN BID TO SAVE AREA HE RIDES HIS PONY
A BOY of 10 has written a heartfelt plea to save the land where he rides his beloved ponies from being transformed into a huge ‘garden village.’
The revised Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, would see around 2,790 homes and 175,000sqm of employment space built on land designated as green belt in Tameside.
One of the key areas identified for development is in Hyde. Some 2,350 homes could be built as part of the massive Godley Green plan.
For Godley Community Primary Academy pupil Jayden Smith, it would see him lose the land around Green Lane farm where he rides his ponies Maddie and Flicker.
His mum Amanda Smith told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he was ‘really upset’ when she told him about the proposals, which are currently out to consultation.
Jayden decided to write to bosses at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) about the plans.
“It’s a bad idea Green Lane could be going,” he wrote.
“I really enjoy going down it to see my horses and it’s been part of my life for three years. I really enjoy riding on Godley Stud farm and that is where I got my own ponies.
“I don’t want houses being built on it as it will be hard for my mum to find some stables and everyone else as well.
“I really enjoy riding up and down it and walking my dogs as well.
“I do enjoy spending time with my ponies on Green Lane and doing things with them like grooming and walking them and I really enjoy walking up in the summer to see them after school.”
The long-awaited revised draft of the spatial framework would see around 8,850 homes built across Tameside up to 2037.
The 20-year housing target for Greater Manchester envisions 201,000 homes built across the ten boroughs.
Amanda, 31, is also a horse rider and she and Jayden both compete in local horse shows and have five ponies at the site off Green Lane.
She said he was ‘quite wise for his age,’ and had picked up on the conversations around the spatial framework from seeing articles she was reading, and spotting campaign posters at Werneth Low country park.
“It was quite a hard conversation to have with him, Jayden is quite sensitive and he got quite upset,” she said.
“He was asking what would happen to the ponies, where they would go and I had to tell him I didn’t know.
“He asked ‘what can I do, how can I help’ so I said he could do a letter and say how he feels.”
A Tameside council spokesperson said that only 1.5 pc of the existing green belt in Tameside would be lost under the revised proposals.
“It’s important we have a plan so we can shape development in the best interests of the borough and local people – otherwise developers will push to seek planning permission in areas they have secured an interest in,” the spokesperson said.
“The allocations of land to be developed in Tameside aim to be innovative and do something different – creating new places with the necessary supporting infrastructure, including greenspace and recreation, rather than piecemeal infill between existing developments.”
The council are encouraging people to have their say on the plans.
The new spatial framework consultation are open until Monday, March 18.