FIVE years on and Hopwood residents want answers after half a decade of misery and frustration trying to get an eyesore farm tidied up.

Collop Gate Farm, off Manchester Road, has been at the centre of the row that has rumbled on since 2005.

Residents claim the farm's owner, Peter Cordwell, of PGC Demolition, has been illegally using the site, which is protected by government green belt policy, for waste disposal and storage.

A resident of Lenten Grove, which backs onto the site, said: "It's a disgusting mess down there. He doesn't do anything he's asked. It just seems that this guy and his company are completely fireproof and simply carry on doing whatever they like with complete impunity."

Councillor Carol Wardle said: "It's taken far too long, he's dragged his feet as much as possible. The land is directly next to residents’ homes and it's made their lives an absolute misery. It's totally antisocial behaviour. Let's hope the council are going to take some firm action in court."

The row stretches back to 2005, when residents started complaining about the use of the farm for the storage of skips and waste. Following failed attempts to resolve the breaches through negotiation, the council issued an enforcement notice in July 2008, requiring the waste and skips to be removed and the non-agricultural use of the land to cease. Mr Cordwell's appeal against the notice was dismissed a year ago.

A flurry of letters, notices and site visits ensued, at the end of which Mr Cordwell had removed the majority, but not all, of the building materials from the site and proceedings for an injunction were issued in October last year.

At a hearing in October 2009 a judge gave Mr Cordwell time to remedy the remaining breaches, but at a further hearing in November it was not possible to settle the matter by agreement and the court agreed to hold a final hearing in April 2010.

In an open letter dated February 4, borough solicitor Linda Fisher said: "Throughout the whole process the Council has continued to engage with Mr Cordwell to find a long term resolution to this matter. Whilst this approach appears to have caused some concern to local residents it is in my view an appropriate strategy for the Council to follow.

"The breaches of planning control have been confined to two small distinct areas of a large site. Mr Cordwell has, albeit late in the day, taken steps to remedy most of the breaches.

"I am satisfied that the action taken by the Council has been both appropriate and proportionate in all the circumstances."

A Manchester Road resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "What we're asking for is the man to tidy the place up and turn it back into the land it was before.

"It's just four-and-a-half years of total frustration, because all the threats that have been made, he just shrugs off. Nobody does anything. You lose all confidence in almost everybody at the council."

Another Manchester Road resident, who also did not wish to be named, said: "My house is my biggest asset and I don't want it to be devalued if I want to be able to sell it. We just want the farm clearing up and flattening back to how it was.

"As a council tax payer, how much money is this costing us? There's so much rubble there that the field has been raised five or six feet. All we get back is platitudes. We all want answers.

The Advertiser contacted Peter Cordwell, but he declined to comment.

A Rochdale Borough Council spokesman said: "Despite several failures by the land owner to respond to council notices to remedy the problems on site, the council issued court proceedings against the land owner last autumn.

"As it hasn’t been possible to settle the matter, a final court hearing will take place this April where the court will determine whether to grant an injunction to the council regarding the outstanding planning breaches.

"Throughout the entire process, the council has continued to work with the landowner to find a long term resolution to this matter regarding the following factors:

"Since the commencement of proceedings there have been no additional planning breaches on the site

"The Environment Agency has investigated and concluded that the materials deposited on the Collop Gate site do not constitute a hazard. The council is satisfied the action taken to date has been both appropriate and proportionate in all the circumstances."