Village green for Norden set to be approved

Heritage Green, at the junction of Caldershaw Road and Cut Lane in Norden

An application to consider whether land in Norden should become a village green looks set to be approved by Rochdale Borough Council’s cabinet on Tuesday (25 September).

Council officers have recommended that cabinet support the application and enter the site on the Register of Town and Village Greens maintained by the council as a statutory Commons Registration Authority.

The Friends of Heritage Green group applied for village green status for the land at the junction of Caldershaw Road and Cut Lane in Norden back in 2015 after persuading the council to retract its plans to sell the Heritage Green.

The Friends group has continued to endeavour to register Heritage Green as a Village Green to ensure the field remains a playing field forever.

The application was delegated to Cheshire East Council in 2016, with Rochdale Council having chosen not to determine the outcome itself because of a possible conflict of interest, given that it owns the land.

The application to grant Village Green status was taken back by Rochdale Borough Council in June this year - despite previously passing the decision to an external local authority last year due to a "conflict of interest."

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/138/community-news/119659/village-green-application-for-heritage-green-taken-back-by-rochdale-council

Tuesday’s (25 September) cabinet meeting takes place at 6.15pm at Number One Riverside.