Star date: 1st May 2019

ST GEORGE'S PLAYING FIELD PROPOSED FOR 209 HOUSES, WHILE LOWRY MILL POND AND WEASTE RESERVOIR TO BE FILLED

At next week's Planning Panel of Salford City Council, Bellway Homes is proposing to build 209 houses on greenspace land, formerly used as St George's School playing fields in Little Hulton.

Meanwhile councillors will also discuss an application to convert one of the ponds at the Lowry Mill in Swinton into a car park, while the Planning Inspector has ruled that the reservoir at Weaste Trading Estate can be filled in for a commercial unit and car parking, as Salford's environment is set to suffer another blow.

Full details here...

"....the presence of the great crested newts on the site cannot be entirely ruled out"

At next week's Planning Panel of Salford City Council, councillors will consider an application by Bellway Homes to build 209 homes on the greenspace land near Burgess Farm in Little Hulton, formerly used by St George's School as a playing field and lately used for grazing.*

65 objections have been received from the community, ranging from loss of greenspace, to additional traffic, to a conflict of interest as Salford Council owns the land, to the impact on wildlife.

Indeed, the Greater Manchester Ecological Unit (GMEU) has also objected "on the grounds that the scheme will deliver insufficient semi-natural habitat to provide satisfactory mitigation for the loss of a large open area of greenspace that will currently function as a wildlife foraging and movement resource".

There is also a chance that protected great crested newts are present on the land, although the GMEU is relying on previous surveys to argue that this is "very low". However, it adds that "the presence of the great crested newts on the site cannot be entirely ruled out", and recommends that the "development is undertaken in accordance with the Reasonable Avoidance measures".

The GMEU concludes that "it would be difficult to justify a reason for refusal on the grounds of biodiversity"... despite the greenspace around the development being "insufficient".

In return, Bellway will provide 15 on-site allotments on land that the Council will retain, plus £252,921 for improvements to Parr Fold Park and/or Peel Park, £170,570 for Wharton Playing Fields changing rooms and pitches, and £150,000 Public Realm contribution.

The developer is also providing £333,880 for various transport and highways schemes, and £581,011 towards increasing primary school capacity, while contributing 42 'affordable' units on the site, or 20% of total properties. Salford Council planning officers have recommended approval.

Meanwhile, at the locally listed Lowry Mill (formerly known as Newtown Mill) on Lees Street in Swinton, a proposal has been put forward to fill in one of the two ponds on the site to convert it into a car park for one hundred cars.

The smaller 'lower mill' pond is to be restored but the larger 'upper mill' pond is to be infilled, if councillors agree to the proposal. The pond will be drained and the fish transferred to 'alternative accommodation'...

Ten objections have been noted with reasons ranging from 'loss of leisure facilities and green space' to 'loss of wildlife habitat – swallows, kestrels, toads, newts, finches and herons'... "Hugely detrimental on local wildlife and to replace it, with all things, another car park which can only damage the environment, just beggars belief" stated one objector.

Seven letters of support have also been received, most noting the need for more parking for staff using the Mill. The Council officer's report concludes that "Whilst the loss of one mill pond would be regrettable from an operational and visual perspective the upper mill pond is ideally positioned to facilitate improved car parking provision.... without significantly harming the preservation of the Mill".

In another blow for Salford's environment, the Planning Inspector has ruled against the Council's decision to refuse Full Circle Events and Exhibitions permission to fill in a reservoir on Weaste Trading Estate, off Weaste Lane, for the erection of a new commercial building and parking spaces.

The Planning Inspector decided that the reservoir "does not form part of the local watercourse network and as such serves no hydrological function" and would not impact on local water quality. She also ruled against the Council officer's assertion that the proposed hours of operation (7am-7pm weekdays and 7am-5pm Saturdays) would provide an unacceptable impact upon local residents, arguing that this could have been resolved without turning down the original application. 

So, in one week, Salford could be set to lose a huge area of greenspace and an historic pond, while definitely losing a reservoir in Weaste.

* For background see previous salford Star article - Salford Council Set To Flog Controversial St George's Playing Field - click here