Bakery homes demolished to make way for estate

Wigan Today reader and keen photographer Chris Winstanley is monitoring the progress carefully with his lens as the former Hovis factory and associated buildings are replaced by new homes.

He said: “Over the last couple of weeks things at the old bakery have undergone considerable changes and I have been trying to get as much pictorial evidence as I can to document the enormous changes that are happening now, just for my own record.

“These are images of the beginning of the demolition. They are the houses that once the owner of the bakery, a Mr Harvey and his family lived in.

“It seems ironic that the founder of the bakery has his old home pulled down first before anything else is demolished but that’s how it goes I suppose.

“This was the semi-detached house on Ash Lane.

“It takes but a short time to demolish a home today with modern equipment. They only have one man and his machine and he demolishes and sorts the wood from the bricks as he goes along, very efficient!”

The factory at one time gave work to hundreds of local people, but gradually wound down its operations over several years and eventually closed altogether.

The Council then received a planning application for 141 homes to be built on the site. Local councillors have called for improved infrastructure to be introduced in the area because of this estate and other homes planned for nearby.

The application for the Hovis site has yet to be adjudicated upon by planning officers.