Community opposition: Wigan township residents bid to block yet another housing scheme

Housing giant Persimmon wants to build 57 homes off Pepper Lane, Standish, along with access by road, parking, landscaping and infrastructure, following the demolition of an existing house.

The developer says its application is in line with The Standish Neighbourhood Plan (2015-2030) which says that “by 2030 our village will be a thriving community with an attractive centre where housing meets local need and residents have easy, affordable access to excellent leisure, sports and cultural facilities and high-quality, ecologically sound, open space.”

The submission also points to the Wigan Local Plan Core Strategy (2013-2026) which quotes the local authority’s objective: “We will improve the built environment of the borough and help make it a better place to live, visit and for businesses to locate and thrive.”

But neighbourhood forum Standish Voice has come out fighting, and ha urged Wigan Council to throw it out, saying the application breaches the authority’s own neighbourhood plan.

The blueprint is the latest in a string of housing schemes which have now totalled around 2,000 over the past decade. The population of Standish “village,” as many locals still prefer to call the area, is now well over 13,000.

Persimmon wants to build the houses on green fields behind 71 Pepper Lane, a disused riding stables.

Entry would be via an access road onto Pepper Lane after the stable buildings have been demolished.

The site is "Safeguarded Land”, designated by the council in the 1980s for future development, but Standish Voice says the project breaches policies in Standish Neighbourhood Plan, which were adopted by Wigan Council after it was passed in a 2019 referendum with a 93 per cent “yes” vote.

Standish Voice also believes the application should be rejected by Wigan Council as it adds extra demand to already over-stretched infrastructure and services, especially the road and health system, which the group says have become far worse over the last decade.

A spokesperson for the forum said: “This scheme will add unacceptable pressure to our local services and infrastructure, especially roads and our health system, namely GP provision. It will also reduce biodiversity in the north of Standish and erode further the habitat of endangered species such as great crested newt and toad, which Persimmon admits are on the site.

“The proposed road layout is dangerous, being on a blind bend, with Pepper Lane already a fast road from the M6 that is regularly subject to speeding.

“Wigan borough has a proven adequate supply of housing for the next five years and more building in Standish is not needed, and not wanted.

“We would like people to object to the plan and send a clear message that more than enough housing has been built in Standish – and too quickly for our community to cope. It has to stop.”

“To object to the plan by following this link to see the plans and make your comment: http://tinyurl.com/5d559bt3.”