Huge new warehouse plan signed off despite 'inescapable' impact on green belt

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A huge new warehouse is to be built at an industrial estate despite the ‘inescapable’ impact it will have on the surrounding green belt.

Standing at 15m tall and covering nearly 90,000 square foot the building will replace two smaller units at Birch Business Park, near Heywood.

It will be around double the size of the existing buildings with an increase in height of approximately eight metres. The replacement warehouse will be closer to the western boundary of the estate as a result of the increase in size - and also more visible, particularly from the south.

Rochdale council’s planning committee narrowly voted to approve the scheme - part of an ongoing redevelopment of the park - when it met on Thursday night.