A defiant farmer is refusing to move out of his £1.1million bungalow despite a council plan for a development of 2,150 homes on green belt land.
Alan French, 76, has lived in his two-bed detached bungalow in Hyde, Greater Manchester, since 2002.
It is known as Far Meadow Farm and sits on 10 acres of stunning countryside.
The retired horticulturalist and renowned horse judge hoped it would be his forever home until, in 2016, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council unveiled plans for a controversial residential development – Godley Green Garden Village.
Outline planning permission – which was later submitted in 2021 and was approved early this year – detailed how two new villages will be built on 256 acres of green belt land between Hyde and Hattersley.
Council chiefs have already entered into options agreements with many landowners to make it happen, something which Alan turned down and now he fears being handed a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO).
But the pensioner has stood firm telling councillors he won’t give up his home even if they did give him one after both his childhood and his grandmother’s homes were previously CPO’d and bulldozed.
Alongside Alan, retired dairy farmer Anne Tym, 68, has also claimed she has been threatened with a CPO by the council after deciding she also wants to keep her nine-acre plot.
Alan French, 76, has lived in his £1.1 million two-bed detached bungalow, Far Meadow Farm since 2002
The retired horticulturalist and renowned horse judge hoped Far Meadow Farm (pictured) would be his forever home until in 2016, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council unveiled plans for a controversial residential development – Godley Green Garden Village
Alan said: ‘My life has been plagued by these purchase orders.
‘When I first found out about these plans and that my property is right in the middle I was thinking to myself blummin’ heck not another one.
‘This time I told them to sod off and that I’m not going anywhere, I have just been blocking it all out and acting as if nothing is going to happen. I now live in fear that I might be kicked out. I’m too old to move again and I don’t want all of the palaver of moving.
‘I like where I live alongside my five horses, two chickens, two ducks, and four pigeons – my view is lovely, I enjoy sitting in my garden and looking out at it.
‘This is my own little bubble, and it is a pity the council are trying to pop it.’
According to Alan, his childhood home Barrak Hill Farm, in Romiley, where he lived with his dad Gilbert, and mum Joan, was CPO’d in 1954 with the 18 acres of land used for bungalows and a posh housing estate.
Then, in the 1960s, his grandma had her cottage on Mill Lane, Woodley, CPO’d so the council could widen the road for an adjacent bridge, before a car park for supermarket chain Iceland was built.
Alan claims he has been asked by the council if he ever plans to sell the land, to which he told them no.
He also says had a meeting with council officials at his house in 2024 who said they won’t be filling a CPO against him to which he asked for it in writing.
Though he claims he is yet to receive the confirmation leaving him living in ‘fear’ that he may be evicted.
Anne Tym, 68, who alongside Alan isn’t giving her land to the council for the project after being threatened with a CPO.
The retired dairy farmer lives with her husband – who doesn’t want to be named – at Brookfold Farm, also in Hyde, says the council won’t ‘bully’ her into giving it up their nine acres.
She said: ‘My husband has lived here since he was born, and I have since we were married 40 years ago.
‘I told the council on day one, they are not having it. If I wanted to live on a housing estate, I would, but I don’t. I don’t think they want to use most of the land for housing, just access.
‘They have asked me if I want to sell and also threatened a CPO, but I’m yet to see anything in writing. It is my land, why should I have to leave.’
But other locals have slammed the developments – it received more than 4,000 initial objections following the initial submission in October 2021.
Campaigners claim that only 15 per cent of the proposed houses will be classed as affordable.
Campaign group ‘Save Tameside Greenbelt’ was set up in the wake of the application and they have been rallying against the development.
Group leader Claire Elliott, 48, who lives in Stalybridge, but works at a horse riding school on Green Lane, in the Godley Green Village area, said: ‘Everyone is angry really that it has gone ahead.
‘It is mainly the fact that it was spun as a community project, but thousands objected. We feel like we haven’t been listened to, it feels like a done deal from day one. The community feels like it is the loss of an asset as people love the countryside and the wildlife there.’
Sue Hartley, 65, who houses her horse Sky on Alan’s land, but lives three miles away in Newton, says it is ‘disgusting’ how they have left him hanging and has also accused them of ‘land banking’.
She said: ‘It seems cruel really, they are leaving people worried about their houses, which isn’t fair, with land potentially not being developed on for years.’
Alan himself also slammed the project claiming it will ‘ruin’ the wildlife scene in the area and be an ‘eyesore’.
He said: ‘The area is changing, but it seems to be moving in the wrong direction, in my opinion.’
The Godley Green Garden Village project would see a total of 2,150 homes built with green spaces, play areas, a primary school, sports pitches and health care facilities to accompany them.
It first emerged in 2016 under the now ditched Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) draft and has since become part of Places for Everyone – a long-term spatial development plan for the Greater Manchester area.
GMSF was a proposed 20-year strategic development plan designed to manage housing, employment, and infrastructure across all 10 local authorities in Greater Manchester until 2037.
It was later submitted in the Tameside planning portal in October 2021. According to the Tameside Council’s website, following the council’s adoption of Places for Everyone in March 2024, the site was removed from the Green Belt and allocated for development.
Sue Hartley, 65, who keeps her horse Sky on Alan’s land, but lives three miles away in Newton, says it is ‘disgusting’ how they have left him hanging and has also accused them of ‘land banking’
The controversial site won outline planning permission last month after it was initially denied in January due to confusion around housing developers MADE £29million cash injection to the Godley area.
Tameside Council has partnered with MADE to deliver the new villages.
Supporters say the plan will help reduce housing shortages in the area.
Tameside Council leader Eleanor Wills said: ‘The designs not only consider the importance of infrastructure and green spaces, but also the mix of people that come together to make a proper community.
‘Godley Green will have homes for young couples and families, retirees, and single people, offering a range of sizes and tenures.
‘The development has been thought through very carefully indeed and will be a welcome addition to Tameside whilst helping us fulfil our obligations to central government to provide more high-quality homes as our population grows.’
Stephen Kinsella, managing director MADE Partnership, said: ‘We are planning a high-quality development where green space and community facilities are at the heart of its design.
‘Godley Green Garden Village will be a place where residents will be proud to live, work and relax.’
This week MADE submitted a reserved matters application – to confirm the outline permission – for key infrastructure on the first few phases of the eastern village, near Hattersley.
It isn’t clear when work will begin.
In a joint statement, a spokesperson for Tameside Council and MADE said: ‘We can confirm that no compulsory purchase orders are being actively pursued or have been issued for the land within the allocated Godley Green Garden Village.
‘Tameside Council and MADE have worked closely with landowners across the site through ongoing engagement and consultation, allowing the proposals to progress through dialogue and agreement to avoid the use of compulsory purchase powers.
‘The Council and MADE remain committed to engaging fairly, and transparently with all affected people, including landowners, as part of the statutory planning process and via a resident liaison group.’
