Plan for homes on derelict mill site
MORE than 30 homes could be built on the remote site of a derelict mill, despite concerns over the plan’s ‘sustainability’.
Owner Alderburgh Limited has applied for outline planning permission to develop the old Sladen Mill, off Halifax Road in Littleborough.
Although the firm, which manufactures plastics sheets and injected moulded parts and now operates from a new site on Dane Street, has not specified exactly how many house the site could hold, a planning officer’s report says it ‘could accommodate approximately 35 units’.
The council has also asked Alderburgh to stump up £125,000 in section 106 cash to help pay for improvements at Hollingworth Lake.
Planning officers says that because the site ‘does not lie within realistic walking distance of public transport’ it would likely mean residents would reply on cars.
This, a report says, ‘detracts from the environmental and social sustainability of the proposal’.
But because the plans would help towards the borough’s new homes target and would have a lesser impact on the green belt than the existing industrial buildings planning officers say that ‘on balance...the adverse impacts of the proposal do not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits’ and recommend the application is approved.
A report, set to go before the Planning and Licensing Committee on Monday, says: “The matter of whether the development is consistent with the principles of sustainable development is finely balanced.
“Whilst it has to be accepted that the future occupiers would rely on the use of private transport and the development would not make any contributions towards the provision of affordablehousing or education, it is considered that the benefits of the scheme outweigh this harm. As such it is considered that the benefits of the scheme would outweigh the harm, and the scheme would therefore constitute sustainable development.
“In summary, it is considered that, on balance, the proposal comprises sustainable development.
“The adverse impacts of the proposal do not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits and therefore, it is recommended that planning permission is granted for the proposed development.”
Planning and Licensing Committee meets at 6.15pm on Monday at Number One Riverside.