‘We don’t need housing here’ –
Concerns as popular dog walking spot is fenced
ABELOVED bit of wild green space in Littleborough has been fenced off by the council - now locals fear they could build houses or a car park there.
Workmen descended on the popular dog walker spot off Hare Hill Road on Monday last week - which led to nearby residents fearing another unwanted development is on the horizon.
The former site of the gasworks, now known locally as Pembroke Park, has been touted for development in the past- but the ground was not deemed suitable, according to residents.
This move by Rochdale Council was unpopular previously, so when a letter was posted through the doors of homes to say feasibility work was starting, it sparked uproar.
The letter issued by the council states that initial
site work will take around five weeks, followed by a monitoring period.
This means the green space is expected to be closed for three months.
Although the letter mentioned parking or housing was on the cards if the land is suitable - there is no guarantee development will follow.
For Heather Campbell, from the ‘Protect Pembroke Park’ group, this latest development is an ominous sign of things to come.
“Why would you park here when the station is all the way down there,” the 65-year-old said, gesturing towards Littleborough station just under half a mile down the road. “There is a station car park as well.
“It’s just nonsense isn’t it. My friend’s daughter and a number of others living around here got a letter to say that they (the council) were going to do investigations here. I live just over the back and I didn’t get anything. There is a great big development down the road where there are going to be hundreds of houses. I don’t think Littleborough needs anymore.
“They’ve not improved the infrastructure, it’s a one horse town and there is nowhere to put any new roads. They say they’re investigating, but to what end?
“It’s the lack of clarity and communication that gets me. It is the fear of the unknown. It’s a very small village which has a lot of traffic already.”
She went on to say how they are not averse to change or building on brownfield sites like this one - but they want it to bring benefits to the town and not add to existing problems. Local voices went unheard when they objected to housing developments off Smithy Bridge Road and Stubley Meadows in recent years.
Even then people said Littleborough was full up and no more houses were needed - but both applications were approved, meaning hundreds more houses in the pipeline.
Although primary school places were not deemed an immediate problem,
Heather was not alone in saying places in Wardle Academy were too few.
Campaigner Julie Alfrey said: “We haven’t got dentists, doctors are overrun, we haven’t got a secondary school other than Wardle and lots of our kids are shipped out to Kingsway just outside the catchment area. But the roads, we haven’t got the roads to deal with it.
“Soon it will be full of commuters who will spend most of their day sitting in traffic jams trying to get out of the area.”
For Julie, though, this battle is personal as she continues her son’s fight to protect the wildlife in the area. The land’s wild nature means it has become home to rare wildlife such as roe deer, foxes, the protected Pipistrelle Bat as well as a host of insects and birds.
Her son Johnny Alfrey, who died at the age of 22 in 2022, was instrumental in setting up bat boxes for the