🛑 OUR COMMUNITY PLAYING FIELD IS UNDER THREAT – PLEASE SIGN & SHARE

 

To my neighbors and friends,

For decades, the field behind Great Howarth School has been more than just "land." It’s a sanctuary where our children play, families walk their pets, a habitat for local wildlife, and a piece of our history with its WWII shelters and mine heritage.

Right now, this space is being taken from us. Work has already started—without planning permission—to destroy our community basketball court and block the paths we use every day. Even the stone steps we’ve used for years have been ripped out.

This isn't just about a car park; it's about a "Trojan Horse" for 40 homes that will flood our streets with traffic, right outside an SEN school where child safety should be the priority.

We need to act NOW to stop this.

Please sign our petition to:

✅ Remove the field from the SHLAA housing list.

✅ Restore our public footpaths and stone steps.

✅ Protect our WWII heritage and green space for our kids.

✅ Make our roads safer with speed bumps and resident parking.

 

Planning application number on ROCHDALE BOROUGH COUNCIL:

PL/2026/0374

 

It only takes 30 seconds to sign, but it could save our field forever.

 

As a resident deeply concerned about road safety, environmental issues, and the safety of the children in our community, I am calling for urgent action to remove public land from the Rochdale Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA). The proposed development of 40 homes next to a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school threatens our well-being and compromises our community values.

Our local community field is not just a piece of land; it is a sanctuary for our children to play in, a refuge for our local wildlife, and a reminder of our history with its preserved WWII shelters and mine shafts with Adits. This space should serve future generations, offering them a safe environment to grow and learn about our heritage.

Turning the cherished basketball court and playground into a car park is not only illegal but disregards the recreational needs of our community’s children. Protecting these areas is vital to fostering a healthy and safe upbringing instead of prioritizing short-term development goals that can endanger lives, particularly with a SEN school in proximity.

The historical significance of the WWII shelters and mine shafts should not be underestimated. They offer unique learning opportunities and stand as memorials to our past. This civic heritage must be preserved, not torn down for development that benefits a few at the cost of many.

Moreover, the increased traffic due to additional housing poses a growing danger to our roads, making it risky for children and residents who walk or bike around their neighborhood. We need to prioritize road safety and ensure the well-being and security afforded by a more open and less congested community space.

Horizon care and education is a privately owned business, they provide SEN care for students with EHCPs, assisted living, care homes and asylum care. The rate per child is charged at taxpayers expense of between £70k-£110k per child per year just to attend the school. Horizon care is privately owned by a DUTCH equity firm WATER LAND B.V.

They have already successfully used the same scenario of just building a car park to land grab and build assisted living, all at the cost of the taxpayer, in 3 other council boroughs. Don't let us become the 4th! 

 

Despite 25 years of community use and the land being designated as Protected Recreational Open Space (Policy G/3), Rochdale Council is attempting to push this through as a 'Delegated Decision'—meaning no public vote and no public accountability. We are demanding this be 'called in' for a full public hearing

 

This land is ex Church of England school land, it has been used as of right by the community for 25 years! Now they want to take this green space from our community without actually facing the issues staring them in the face! Dangerous road, lack of residential parking, loss of green space, endangering wildlife, not addressing safety issues....

 

Join me in protecting our community field and heritage. By signing this petition, you help voice the collective concern of our community members, convince local authorities to reconsider the development project, and channel resources into preserving our open spaces for recreation and ecological sustainability. Please sign this petition to safeguard our future, heritage, and community integrity.

 

🌳Save our wildlife, bats, owls, wild birds, deer, foxes, hedgehogs, newts, frogs, flowers, trees, hedgerows... They all need OUR help NOW.🐰🦊🐁🐇🦌🦇🦡🦉🦅🐞🐝🐛🦋

 

Great news! We have formally submitted our Town and Village Green application (Form 44) to Rochdale Council for the land at St John’s Field (Site AL/HOU/40).

​This is a major step in protecting our field from being turned into houses. However, the fight isn't over. The Council’s legal department is currently reviewing the application, and we need to show that this land has been used 'as of right' by our community for over 20 years.

 

The crucial meeting regarding the land at Great Howarth / Regal Fold is scheduled for:

​Thursday, 25th June 2026
​The decision will be made by the Rochdale Borough Council Cabinet. Here are the key details surrounding this specific item:

​Purpose of the Item: The report is explicitly to consider the "release of land at Great Howarth / Regal Fold, Wardle for sale."
​Lead Officer: Mark Prestwich (Director of Economy & Place).
​Status: The item is currently listed as "Fully Exempt." This means the specific financial details and the report itself are likely to be discussed behind closed doors (private session) because they involve commercially sensitive information regarding the value of the land.
​Wards Affected: Wardle, Shore, and West Littleborough.
​What this means for the "Public Use" argument:
​Because the council is moving toward a "sale" decision on June 25th, this is the critical legal moment. If the community intends to argue that the land has been a public park for 25 years (Town or Village Green status), a legal challenge or registration application usually needs to be active before the land is sold or fenced off.

​Once the Cabinet approves the sale on the 25th, the council will have a legal mandate to proceed with a disposal, which often leads to the land being cleared or secured shortly thereafter.

​Public Attendance:

While the specific "Great Howarth" item is marked as exempt, Cabinet meetings themselves are generally held at 6:00 PM at Number One Riverside in Rochdale. The public can usually attend the open parts of the meeting, even if they are asked to leave when the "Exempt" land sale items are reached.