Furious residents in a quaint northern village have apparently taken drastic action to try to stop a mammoth housing development going ahead.

With its picturesque surroundings and quick transport connections to Manchester, Littleborough has long been mooted as one of the best-kept secrets in Greater Manchester. 

But the small village nestled among the rolling hills of the Pennines risks being overwhelmed by a number of large-scale housing developments which residents claim would worsen the congested roads and cause further problems for local health and education infrastructure which is already on the brink of capacity.

The most controversial of the new housing projects is the 309 homes set to be built by Bloor Homes on former greenbelt land next to Hollingworth Lake – Littleborough’s most beloved landmark.

Members of the public booed a planning committee meeting at Rochdale Council where the development was approved and over 1,000 objection letters were sent into the council.

But it would appear some residents have decided to take more dramatic actions to try and scupper the project.

Last month, just days before Christmas, an unknown assailant released a pair of horses onto the field.

In response, Bloor Homes erected a sign warning that the horses running loose on the land would be ‘removed by other means’ if they weren’t taken away within 96 hours. 

The most controversial of the new housing projects in Littleborough is the 309 homes set to be built by Bloor Homes (pictured) on former greenbelt land next to Hollingworth Lake

Last month, just days before Christmas, an unknown assailant released a pair of horses onto the field in apparent attempt to scupper the homes being built

After four days, the horses were still roaming in the field and the owners had not returned. 

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Bloor Homes has revealed that after the company failed to locate the horses’ owners, they were handed to the RSPCA. 

A spokesperson said: ‘Two ponies/horses were placed on Bloor Homes land without permission. Staff were concerned for the welfare of the animals and made attempts to locate the owners, without success. 

‘Bloor Homes then contacted World Horse Welfare who advised to erect the signage. They also advised on the wording.

‘With adverse weather conditions forecast at the end of December and increasing concern for the animals, they were taken into the care of the RSPCA.’

According to the RSPCA, the horses are now in their care and are ‘doing well’ but bizarrely, their owners have still not come forward.

A spokesperson said: ‘With the support of Bloor Homes, two ponies, both of whom were in poor condition, were removed from the site last month. They are now doing well in RSPCA care.’ 

While most residents have not taken as extreme action as the owner of the horses, the new housing development remains unpopular with much of the population of Littleborough.

In response, Bloor Homes erected a sign warning that the horses running loose on the land would be ‘removed by other means’ if they weren’t taken away within 96 hours. After four days the horses were still roaming in the field and the owners had not returned

The owners of the horses has not come forward the the animals are now in the care of the RSPCA

Road access is of particular concern for many.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Ann and Andrew Bowker said: ‘There is only one road in and one road out.

‘A lot of roadworks come on these roads and it jams up continuously. There is already a housing estate being built, and okay they’re nice, but you’re going to have one hell of an estate when they come together.’

At a council meeting earlier this month, another large 199 housing development in the Smithy Bridge area of Littleborough was also approved.

More than 300 people wrote in objection to the homes which are to the direct southwest of the Bloor Homes site.

Once again, the congested roads into the village were raised as an issue.

Resident Matt Hargreaves told the planning committee: ‘The roads are already substantially over capacity. They are adding hours to people’s days and this is going to make it worse.

‘The traffic is wrecking people’s lives, every single day.’ 

A relief road which would link Littleborough to the Rochdale Bypass has been proposed alongside this latest housing development to fix the traffic congestion.

But local councillors questioned if this will effectively tackle the problem with Reform UK councillor John Taylor calling it ‘the road to nowhere’ adding that it won’t be effective until it is 100 per cent complete.

Labour’s Richard Jackson said that ‘without the commitment to build the relief road, nothing will ever change’ and that residents will suffer ‘more misery and longer queues’.

Despite the opposition from councillors and nearby residents, Rochdale Council said their ‘hands were tied’ on this application and voted to approve it.

In similar scenes to last year, the vote was met with jeers from residents watching the meeting.