Housing developments around Greater Manchester are nothing new, but this week has seen two huge developments in Salford come to light. Consultations have been launched on two massive projects in Pendleton and the Quays. A planned regeneration of the Pendleton area could see 485 new homes added to homes to a ‘pivotal location’ alongside the creation of wildflower meadows and orchards. Over in the Quays, which has seen a drastic transformation over the last two decades, is set for further development with proposals submitted for 3,200 homes, 300 new hotel rooms and 800,000 sq ft of commercial space. Residents of Salford are being asked to have their say in order to make their voices heard on what could be a huge change to the landscape of an ever changing area of the borough. There are still plenty of proposals across the city-region that the people of Greater Manchester can have their say on, here is a breakdown of applications per borough: Bolton Recycling centre wants to operate 24 hours a day Bosses at a recycling plant want to operate 24-hours a day after installing quieter machinery. J Dickinson and Sons Limited run a waste transfer station and materials recycling facility at Station Road in Blackrod. A planning application published by Bolton council said there are currently conditions restricting working hours at the site. Dickinsons would like to alter it to allow 24 hour working inside the main transfer station building. They said they do not wish to alter the access times for vehicles and it is not proposed to operate any of the external plant outside of the current permitted day time hours. The recycling plant is within Rivington View Business Park. Special school plans for former health centre Plans have been lodged to change the use of the former Little Lever Health Centre on Mytham Road to a special school. The school will cater for young people with special needs who are likely to have a diagnosis of high functioning autism. Changes to the building will be a new security fence to the front and a play area to the rear. The school is proposed to be a small independent special school catering for up to 60 young people (nine-16), providing full time education in a therapeutic environment. Bury Council to review locations of the 85 polling stations in Bury A review of the 85 polling stations used for in person voting at elections in Bury is underway. Bury Council is carrying out a review in all polling districts in the borough in advance of next year’s elections. Their aim is to identify the most suitable venues and remedy any problems people may have encountered at current polling stations. The use of schools is to be reduced wherever possible to avoid disruption for pupils and parents. The closing date for views and comments is November 10. Details of the current arrangements and how you can comment on them for the review can be viewed on the council’s website at https://www.bury.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/elections-and-voting/polling-places-and-polling-station-review-2023. Radio mast plans at cricket club site Plans have been submitted to build a 25 metre radio mast at Unsworth Cricket Club on Pole Lane. Icon Tower Infrastructure Group says the mast will be placed within an existing compound approximately 36 metres to the south of the site. The development will include a base station, 2.4m high fencing, six operator cabinets, two dishes and six antennas. The applicant says the mast is needed for ‘enhanced network coverage for mobile network operators’. Oldham Only three planning applications were submitted to Oldham Council this week. They proposals included a small house extension on Bowling Street in Chadderton; a portable substation off Broadway Business Park Broadgate Chadderton; and a variation of highway improvement works relating to an approved application in Chadderton. Manchester Education centre could get a new games area The Gorton Education Village in Manchester could see their outdoor facilities go from grass to hard surface so it can be used all year round. Following the addition of four new classrooms at Melland High School section of the site, there is a reduction in space. A new multi-use games area (MUGA) would change a section of grass to a surface that could be used during winter – expanding the capacity of the outdoor space. The proposed MUGA at the Wembley Road site would not affect the main existing playing field, a design and access statement said. Rochdale Rochdale Boroughwide Housing planning to demolish two buildings A planning application has been submitted to demolish two-story and three-story buildings in Rochdale with the aim of building more Rochdale Boroughwide Housing homes. The sites on High Street and Redcross Street could be knocked down to make way for ‘affordable housing’ as part of a wider masterplan to redevelop the area. The exact number of new homes that could be built on the sites is still being worked out. Salford ‘The grandest ballroom in Greater Manchester’ set to become a HMO A plan to turn ‘the grandest ballroom in Greater Manchester’ into a five-bedroom house of multiple occupation (HMO) has been submitted to Salford city council. Its proprietors want to convert the first and second floors of the Grand Palais in Swinton into a residential property. An adjoining shop would also be converted into a bicycle and bin storage area. The planning application says the development ‘will provide some much-needed town centre affordable residential accommodation in the area while bringing back into use the vacant assembly and leisure areas and a vacant retail shop’. Owner Stephen Johnson says there is no plan to close the ballroom which he says is ‘absolutely massive’. Salford’s latest transformation could include wildflowers meadows, ‘edible landscape’ and 500 new homes Detailed plans for a huge development of nearly 500 homes as part of the Pendleton Regeneration Area in Salford have been tabled, along with computer-generated images of the new neighbourhoods. The proposals include the re-landscaping of Clarendon Park to include play areas and skate park as well as public open space and allotments on a 35-acre site on land south of Churchill Way and north of Liverpool Street. They would also involve the creation of wildflower meadows and orchards to create a ‘doorstep edible landscape’. They have been submitted on behalf of Lovell Partnerships and Together Housing Group, which have described Pendleton as a ‘pivotal location’ in central Salford, close to Salford Quays, MediaCityUK, Salford University Campus and Chapel Street. The plan is described as ‘a diverse mix of apartments and houses to create a balanced new neighbourhood’ totalling 485 homes. Salfordians can have their say on MASSIVE transformation at the Quays with thousands of homes to be built Salford city council’s cabinet has agreed to ask the public what they think of plans to expand MediaCityUK and Salford Quays with thousands of new homes. Proposals for 3,200 homes, 300 new hotel rooms and 800,000 sq ft of commercial space will be subjected to six weeks’ public consultation, starting on Wednesday October 18. Peel Media and major investor Landsec are revamping and amending previously approved plans dating back to 2016. Salford Quays is already home to 1.4million sq ft of offices and upwards of 1,100 homes. A workshop of events will now take place for interested stakeholders, the local community and ward councillors. Stockport The pub that could soon make way for a Sainsbury’s The Dog And Partridge on Buxton Road, High Lane in Stockport could be turned into a new Sainsbury’s store if a planning application is successful. The land, which is thought to have been used as a public house since the early 19th century, was acquired by Sainsbury’s after the Co-Op withdrew its own plans. The store will have a car park with an entrance from Buxton Road. Tameside Doctor’s surgery could be transformed into children’s nursery Plans have been submitted to Tameside Council to change the use of a doctor’s surgery into a nursery. If plans were accepted by the council, the site at Birch Lane in Dukinfield would be transformed into a day nursery for children. No decisions have been made on the proposals put forward by Wacky woo day nursery Ltd. According to the planning application, no physical changes are required to make the building a viable nursery. The GP surgery’s rental lease came to an end this year. Trafford Plans for new high-spec operating theatres at birthplace of NHS Plans to expand Trafford General Hospital – the birthplace of the NHS in 1948 – with two new operating theatres have been submitted. The two-storey extension includes the theatres, two anaesthetic rooms, two preparation rooms, two scrub bays and two ‘dirty utility rooms’. A design and access statement submitted on behalf of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) says the hospital has been undergoing several improvements to its facilities and ‘is planning to continue this trend’. The plan is to ‘seize the potential’ of a courtyard area by creating a two-storey extension with an external rooftop to house the two operating theatres. Wigan Proposals for new housing development on farmland causes a stink Plans for a 31-home development on a farm in Atherton have sparked anger. The proposal, put forward by Peter Williams, William Williams and Ruth Walton would see a mix of 31 new houses with two, three and four bedrooms built on land currently occupied by Shams Farm off Shakerley Lane. The site sits between the main hubs of Atherton and Tyldesley off the A579 (Bolton Road) – which objectors say is at capacity. The latest plans have stirred up anger, with fears a new road could become a rat run. There is currently no through road south of the site towards Tyldesley so this proposed site would only be accessible via Bolton Road.
