Looney Tunes

Posted By: Robin Parker
Date Posted: 16/09/2007

Developer A comes along with a shed load of money to refurbish social housing to decent standard. Just as this is done and dusted Developer B comes along with another shed load of money, decides that more green space is needed so will bulldoze lots of this improved social housing to make way for it. Of course a tale like this is Looney Tunes; it also happens to be true.

Langley is part of the Oldham and Rochdale Pathfinder for Housing Market Renewal. I always thought that ‘Pathfinder’ was an abstract concept referring to a way forward. I didn’t realise that it literally meant carving a ‘path’ from one side of the estate to another, clearing everything in its way. I’ve seen some pea brained schemes in my time but this takes the biscuit.

I have no problem with a sensible Green Space Strategy and there is plenty of potential to create that without the radical destruction proposed here. The real problem is the fixated obsession by Housing Market Renewal officers of a green linear corridor. This means you must have green access all the way through. No where must the residents’ feet land on concrete. Even where roads are crossed these are pedestrianised. There is one little flaw in the obsession, though; I have yet to meet one person who wishes to walk/cycle from Hollin Lane/Langley Lane junction to Lakeland Court and beyond.

In order to achieve this pipe dream, two valuable sporting assets, Middleton Select Boxing Club and Middleton Gymnastics society will be bulldozed. There are no relocation plans in the proposals.

But the most obscene and immoral proposal of them all must be to demolish 190 properties, the majority of which have had thousands spent on them by Bowlee Park Housing Association since 2003. There are proposals to build 500 houses for sale and rent, the number of rentals matching those demolished. Not good enough. We already have Lovell developments building houses for sale. As we all know, the housing market has turned on its head and while a few years ago there was no demand for social housing on Langley, it is now desperately needed. All the new houses must therefore be for rent.

At last week’s Middleton Township Committee an officer said that if members opposed the plans then they would not go ahead. The Langley members have opposed the demolition of improved properties from day one, but the officers have ignored them. Maybe she was referring to the Cabinet in Rochdale. If that were the case I would offer one piece of advice to them; this is one hot potato you would do well to devolve to Middleton Township.