Decision due as locals continue to oppose housing on green space
Tameside Council’s planning panel will this month consider detailed proposals for a new housing estate on a stretch of green land in Mossley after the scheme attracted widespread opposition during public consultation.
Developer Wain Homes has put forward plans for a development of 175 homes on a site between Hey Farm Estate and Mossley Hollins High School, close to shops, medical services and recreational facilities. The reserved matters application follows the council’s outline approval in December 2023 and sets out the layout, scale and appearance of the proposed houses.
Plans show a mix of three, four and five‑bed properties, together with a central “linear open space” featuring informal play opportunities such as benches, natural play logs and play boulders. The scheme also includes a children’s play area, a new access road onto Huddersfield Road and footpaths linking the development to the neighbouring green space.
- Total homes: 175
- Affordable homes proposed: 26 (around 15%)
- Planning panel hearing: 22 July 2026
Objectors — more than 500 responses were recorded at an earlier stage of the process — have raised concerns about the scale of the development, the potential for overshadowing of nearby properties, increased traffic on Huddersfield Road and the loss of open land used by local people. Residents also say that new housing in the area is already expensive and that the number of genuinely affordable homes in the scheme is insufficient.
| Issue | Raised by |
|---|---|
| Traffic and flooding risk on Huddersfield Road | Residents during public consultation |
| Insufficient affordable housing | Local objectors |
Wain Homes has previously argued the site is well positioned for family housing because of its proximity to local schools and services. In an earlier stage of the planning process, the developer suggested some higher‑value homes would address a shortage of executive properties in the area.
The reserved matters stage gives the council the opportunity to scrutinise the detailed layout, house types and landscaping but does not revisit the principle of development, which was established by the outline permission. The planning panel will hear both objections and representations from the applicant before making a decision on whether the detailed proposals are acceptable in planning terms.
If the panel approves the reserved matters application, the developer would be able to proceed to submit any remaining technical approvals and begin work in due course, subject to compliance with planning conditions. If councillors refuse the details, the outline permission would remain in place but further amendments or an appeal could follow.
For local residents wanting to follow the outcome, the Tameside Council planning register will publish the panel agenda and decisions; interested parties can also contact their ward councillors or the council’s planning department for further information.
