Wigan has smallest amount of brownfield land available for houses in Greater Manchester

The borough has just 26 brownfield locations able to accommodate 1,468 houses, according to the engineering, design and project management consultancy firm which looked into the subject.

However, the sites in Wigan which could be turned into housing are, on the whole, reasonably large, as the borough has 113 hectares which could be put to use. This is the fifth-largest amount of land available to GM town halls.

The report, prepared by Edaroth, also has bad news for the more than 7,000 residents on Wigan’s waiting list as developing its brownfield sites would make a dent in the need for homes of just 19.7 per cent.

This is the least impact brownfield house-building will have on waiting lists anywhere in Greater Manchester.

By contrast Manchester City Council has more than 500 sites at its disposal, which would enable it to build an incredible 61,055 homes and provide accommodation for everyone on its waiting list four times over.

The report authors said brownfield land had a vital role to play in achieving the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) housing strategy.

MD Mark Powell said: “While the GMCA has a clear housing strategy in place, there is still a need to accelerate plans to provide affordable homes where people want to live, work and prosper.

"Much of the brownfield land in Greater Manchester is located within existing communities with better than average access to schools, healthcare and economic centres, providing and enduring more positive outcomes for residents and local authority landlords.”