Decision on takeaway plan

A former betting shop at the centre of a village could be turned into a takeaway.
Aspull Racing on MoorsideAspull Racing on Moorside
Aspull Racing on Moorside

A planning application has been submitted to change the use of the vacant unit at Moorside, on Scot Lane, Aspull.

Applicant Umair Khaliq wants to open a takeaway, which would operate every day between 4pm and 11pm.

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But the proposal has not been welcomed by people in the area.

Ward councillors Ron Conway and Chris Ready have both opposed the plan due to the disruption it would case to residents living nearby.

And 26 letters of objection have been sent to the council.

Concerns include youths congregating and anti-social behaviour, litter, parking issues and the number of hot food businesses in Aspull.

One person wrote: “I consider it to be detrimental to the established local businesses in the area and to the local residents.

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“Such an outlet will inevitably attract youths and the fact that they tend to gravitate and congregate will be intimidating to customers and residents alike.”

The owner of the chip shop at Moorside also wrote to object, describing what happened when it used to open late on weeknights.

They said: “We had so many problems with anti-social behaviour, young people hanging around the shop drinking, broken glass outside my shop, graffiti on the shutters, the police came numerous times to move them away, the lights from the shop seemed to attract them.”

The application is recommended for approval and will be considered by the planning committee when it meets at 2pm on Tuesday.

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An application to turn another unit on Moorside into a takeaway was rejected last month, due to concerns about the flue extraction system.

Earlier this week, the Evening Post reported that Wigan has more takeaways than anywhere else in the North West, apart from Manchester and Liverpool.

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