A decision on whether to build four football pitches and a clubhouse on green belt land in Radcliffe has been delayed as councillors said they needed further information. Wyresdale AFC is hoping to move from its base off Inverbeg Drive in Breightmet, Bolton, to land off Radcliffe Moor Road.
The site is less than a mile away but is in the borough of Bury. Bolton Wyresdale joined up with Westchurch Homes Ltd to propose the development on agricultural land off Radcliffe Moor Road.
It would consist of four football pitches, a new clubhouse, changing facilities and car parking. The club wished to work with Westchurch Homes to use their old ground in Bolton to build affordable housing in exchange for them moving to a new site nearby.
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In June, Bolton Council threw out those plans to build 94 Bolton at Home properties on the Breightmet site, which provoked 142 objections. However, the plans for the new ground in Radcliffe, which have also been met with extensive opposition, went before Bury Council’s planning committee this week.
Dozens of objectors attended the meeting, with the public gallery appearing full.
Speaking against the plans, Gerard Tucker, who lives near the proposed site, said: “I speak on behalf of 145 objectors. This is an impassioned plea to protect our safety and environment. My family have lived for 65 years opposite this field.
“It is an area of great beauty and unopposed views. The road is called Radcliffe Moor Road, the clue is in the name, arable, rural land.
“The field in question has been farmland for well over 100 years. This development would guarantee further road accidents.
“This stretch has no calming measures, traffic lights or pedestrian crossings. We are a rural community of around 40 homes overlooking the field.
“The fields have been a mainstay during Covid providing a peaceful and serene environment allowing people to walk, run, walk their dogs and fish. We are victims of what we feel is an opportunistic application.
“It would be environmental vandalism, totally unnecessary and without foundation.”
The applicants said the club needed to relocate because their existing pitches were unsuitable.
They said the club would own and run the site and that the club drew its players for the local area. Coun Angela Booth who represent Radcliffe North and Ainsworth, said: “This is Bury’s green belt. The people who live here do not want this development.
“This is a business arrangement about profit and a tiny part-time football club gaining a huge facility as a result. This isn’t a small club relocating but a new business being funded to allow a property developer to build houses in Bolton.”
Coun Jo Lancaster, said: “These facilities do not fit the criteria of exceptional circumstances to build in the green belt. I have done some research which show the football club has two adult teams, the first team with 25 players listed and a second team with 23 payers listed.
“That’s 48 players, from Bolton, to determine the future of our green belt. This area provides open space for walking a residents’ mental health which should be a priority, not 48 men from Bolton.”
Councillors decided that they needed further technical information to determine the application and deferred a decision until a future meeting.
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