Saddleworth residents can have their say on the future of the parish.

The neighbourhood plan is nearing completion after several years of work and Saddleworth Parish Council has launched a 10-week consultation on the proposals.

Some of which include additional protections for local green spaces, measures to address flooding, support for local businesses, improve public transport, and encourage better provision of healthcare, education and social care. 

Cllr Barbara Beeley, chair of the strategic planning committee, said: “We’re proud that we started with an absolutely blank piece of paper and no pre-conceived ideas.

"Every policy in this document was either suggested by residents or created to address a problem which residents raised.

“The local community has been involved throughout, and we’re incredibly grateful to the volunteers from each of the village associations who have been attending the meetings as we’ve gone along, and sense-checking everything to make sure it’s actually what people want.”

The consultation opened yesterday (April 2) and will run until June 10, and summaries of the plan are set to be delivered to the 12,000 homes across the parish.

A public meeting will be held at Saddleworth Civic Hall on April 16 at 7pm, where the plans will be introduced and people can ask questions and give feedback. 

Cllr Beeley added: “The point of a neighbourhood plan is to create proposals which respond to local issues and deliver at a really local level.

"We aren’t proposing any new developments, we’ve just looked at what people said needs to be improved over the next 20 years, and if we could do it, we did it.

“We hope that shows in the policies. The feedback we’ve had so far has been extremely positive, and we hope that continues, but we’re in residents’ hands.”

Residents can comment on the plan and provide feedback via freepost, or by visiting the parish council's website.

Meanwhile, copies of the full plan are available online, and to view at local libraries and from the Civic Hall.

Following completion of the consultation, residents will then vote on the plan through a local referendum.