Save Spodden Valley campaigner responds to personal allegations

Save Spodden Valley campaigner Jason Addy

Save Spodden Valley campaigner Jason Addy has responded to what he calls "personal allegations" about him contained in a press release issued by owners of the former Turner Brothers Asbestos site, MMC Estates.

Mr Addy says: “Fair minded people will draw their own conclusions about such personal abuse from MMC.

“Our community campaign has been host to hundreds of supporters at public meetings; over a thousand individual objections have been lodged against the planning application; internationally respected experts have freely given their time to the important issues raised.

“Save Spodden Valley’s real and legitimate concerns have been vindicated by the independent Atkins Report and debates in Parliament.

“Surely the landowners conducted due diligence before buying the site?  

“The last 3 years prove that local people will not be bullied or threatened. The landowners have a legal Duty of Care for the entire site, irrespective of their desire for residential planning permission.”     

The MMC press release in full:

“Countryside Properties Limited (CPL) has withdrawn from the planning application for a mixed use scheme on the former Turner Brothers site because CPL became disillusioned with the apparent unwillingness of the town planning department to deal with the application as a result of the ill founded and negative publicity generated by Jason Addy’s campaign.

"The people of Rochdale should keep in mind that the site owners, MMC Developments Limited and Rathbone Jersey Limited (MMC-Rathbone), have not caused the contamination problem on the site, this is inherited from Federal Mogul, but in fact quite to the contrary MMC-Rathbone are trying very hard to find a mixed use solution comprising both residential and employment uses which will pay for a comprehensive site clean up, as approved in the Rochdale development plan when it met with no objection. This will provide both much needed and good quality new jobs and new housing.

"The owners have directors born in the borough with parents born and bred in Rochdale who worked on the site as youngsters, and so are acutely aware of the issues involved and the need to undertake the development in a thorough manner. MMC-Rathbone remain (sic) absolutely determined to reach this solution to the historic problem, and request the support of Rochdalians and the commitment of the planning department to reach a quite feasible solution which will benefit everyone.

"If we were to cave in to Jason Addy’s uninformed scaremongering and let him have his way, which we most certainly won’t, the site would remain a contaminated eyesore on the face of Rochdale in eternity, and all the surrounding houses and properties will be devalued by his badly thought through obsession”.