Strategy plan is the ‘most important’ ever
TOWN Hall chief Richard Farnell has hailed a plan which will dictate how the borough develops over the next two decades as ‘the most important document the council has ever agreed’.
The Rochdale Core Strategy was voted through at a meeting of the full council at the town hall on Wednesday night.
The plan will set the overall direction of growth and development in the borough for 20 years and all other plans will need to conform to it.
Coun Farnell said: “This is one of the most important documents this council approve.
“It’s about what will Rochdale borough look like in 20 years time and how we are going to allocate land for various different developments.”
He continued: “What we are going to do is bring in Neighbourhood Planning so we involve the public at the start of the process and can sit down with local communities in wards or townships and ask what do you want your area to look like in 15 or 20 years time?
“If we have to provide more housing for the population, where do you want it to be in your will ever community? What about jobs and industrial space, where would you like it to be? What land do you want to protect as open space?”
And he said that residents would have a greater role in shaping their communities under the plan.
“We need to have that conversation at the start of the process and we are going to roll that out right across the borough and give people are real say at the start of the process because, frankly when you get a planning application it’s too late,” he added. “If that land is already allocated for housing there’s very little you can do.
“You can come and bang the drum for opposing the planning application but if it’s in the core planning strategy you might as well shout in the street.”
Proposals to disband township planning committees in favour of a larger Planning and Licensing committee and were also approved at the meeting.
Coun Andy Kelly, leader of the Liberal Democrats branded the move as ‘an affront to democracy’ and accused Labour and Conservative councillors of being in a ‘cosy coalition’ together.
But Coun Farnell said the council couldn’t afford the current ‘elongated planning process’ and the new system would result in an ‘improved and streamlined service’ which would save money.
‘It’s about what will Rochdale look like in 20 years time’