Housing plan puts pressure on services - councillor

Peel Land has submitted an updated planning application to Salford council for 295 new homes

Plans to build nearly 300 homes near a Royal Horticultural Society garden could pile pressure on local services, a councillor has said.

Peel Land has submitted an updated planning application to Salford Council for 295 new homes on land east of Boothstown, off Leigh Road, next to RHS Bridgewater.

It said the revised application had been planned with a "lower density design" which would be "more reflective of local character".

However, Les Turner, a Conservative councillor in Salford’s Boothstown and Ellenbrook ward, said it was "pointless" to build new housing without the infrastructure, when local services were already "at breaking point".

'Local character'

“The problem with all these houses is we can’t build at that scale without the infrastructure to accommodate it," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“It’s a problem all over the country. I don’t know the price of a house there, but I imagine it would be quite expensive."

He added: “We’re not doing a favour to the people with big mortgages who buy one if they can’t get their kids into schools or see a dentist or doctor."

The housing would be based on greenbelt land released under Greater Manchester’s Places for Everyone scheme, a plan to build more homes around the region.

If approved by the council, the new homes, half of which are designated as "affordable", would offer residents new play parks and active travel routes, as well as improved connectivity to RHS Garden Bridgewater and the Bridgewater Canal.

A spokeswoman for Peel Land said it withdrew a previous planning application for 350 homes in the area, after feedback from the community and council.

She said the revised application had been planned with a "lower density design" which would be "more reflective of local character".

She added: “We fully recognise there are existing infrastructure concerns locally."

"We have taken the time and effort to amend and resubmit the proposal in response to issues raised."