Seven-year housing spat remains unresolved

The development on Haven Lane, Oldham, has been going through the planning process for seven years

An Oldham housing development that has been going through planning for seven years is locked in a stalemate between residents and a council over "nightmare roads".

The 23 new homes on land off Haven Lane, Moorside are almost completed but will not be occupied until the planning spat with Oldham Council and a local residents' group is resolved.

Planning permission requires Cube Homes to develop a traffic calming scheme to deal with what have been described as "dangerous roads" nearby before they can rent or sell the houses.

Cube Homes said the delays were stopping the company from "reinvesting in social value initiatives and affordable housing".

A computer generated image of the development

Now the developer has asked to have the conditions removed entirely or amended, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The application seeks a "total removal of the condition" or a change to the conditions to enable the measures to be completed "within 12 months of the final occupation of the approved dwellings" rather than before it.

Cube Homes consultant Alisa Goudie said the current conditions were "stymieing the ability of Cube to occupy the properties and thus realise profit from the development".

She said this was stopping the company from "reinvesting in social value initiatives and affordable housing".

The application comes just a month after a previous application by Cube Homes to amend the traffic calming measures was thrown out.

'Parking issues'

Local residents opposed the updated scheme, with neighbours saying the plans had significantly changed from the original 2018 proposals.

They feared major parking issues would be created because of widened pavements, speed bump placements and a raised junction area.

The "danger" of the road layout comes from a "blind spot" at the entrance to the housing development, according to Trevor Cash, chair of Moorside East Residents Association.

He and his wife Wendy, who live next to the development, said the traffic calming measures were necessary but they said it "needed to work for everyone".

The development has now been going through planning applications, appeals and condition amendments for seven years.

The new amendments are due to be decided by 21 November.