Norden village green application passed to full council meeting

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

An application to consider whether land in Norden should become a village green has been passed to be heard at the next full council meeting on Wednesday 17 October.

Council officers recommended that Tuesday’s (25 September) cabinet support and endorse the application before sending it to the next full council meeting.

If approved, the site will then be entered 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

Mark Hope, a spokesman for the Friends of Heritage Green, said: “We need to take the positives. The lawyers are recommending the application and the cabinet is also recommending registration. They voted on it and passed it unanimously. 

“None of us could have known this was going to happen and if you look at the paper, the intent was that the cabinet would decide last night.

“Hopefully the pot of gold is now within our grasp.”

Norden ward councillor, Peter Winkler said: “There was another positive turnout of residents this evening, demonstrating that this is an application that has overwhelming local support which has been, and still is, unwavering.

“We are pleased that this has now moved forward with the full endorsement of Cabinet. We will continue to support residents throughout the process and will certainly be supporting the application when it is brought to full council for final approval.”