Joy as plan for flats at former Wigan police station is withdrawn

Opponents of plans for a former police station site have secured their first victory.
The former Atherton police stationThe former Atherton police station
The former Atherton police station

An application for a four-storey building housing flats and shops in Atherton has been withdrawn, Wigan Council has confirmed.

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Independent Network councillors Jamie Hodgkinson and Stuart Gerrard had both objected to the idea and asked for the planning committee to throw it out.

They say the proposal was too big for the Bag Lane site and had major drawbacks for neighbours living in the immediate area.

But, as there is a possibility revised versions of the proposal could still be submitted, they are not starting to celebrate just yet.

Coun Hodgkinson said: “At our surgeries we had quite a few residents saying they were concerned about disruption, the building work and the scale of the plan. There were only nine parking spaces and commercial units planned, so where would everyone park?

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“I asked where the containers and site offices during work were going to be. All the land was taken up in the planning application with the building. It’s a bad junction too. You’ve got the V2 buses there. I understand what they were trying to do, building flats for commuters near the shops, but the extent of it was just over the top and it wouldn’t have worked. Residents will be happy about this but it’s not a victory yet. We will continue supporting the residents’ views.”

Councillors and planners are understood to have spoken about whether there will still be objections should an amended proposal arrive at the town hall and if they would prefer the committee to consider that rather than a delegated decision’s being made.

The plan was listed on the council website for a total of 18 apartments, three commercial premises, a retail unit and a parking area plus access point. The existing building on the site would have been demolished.