Plan for new Wigan homes gets the green light

Outline plans for almost 150 houses at the former borough home of the Hovis bread production line were granted earlier this year.

Developers have now had details relating to the designs of the houses, landscaping and lay-out signed off by the council.

The plot on Cale Lane in New Springs is set to become 141 three or four-bedroom houses with the development site including a children’s play area.

Officers say the proposal will create a “strong, attractive frontage, enhanced by landscaping and tree planting” across Cale Lane and Ash Lane. And the lay-out of the houses will not cause “unacceptable overlooking, or the loss of privacy or outlook to existing properties.”

Access will be from Cale Lane with several cul-de-sacs and areas of open land branching off a central spine road, according to the designs.

The application includes details of a financial contribution to nearby Holy Family RC Primary School and the Rose Bridge Academy for extra education facilities through section 106 regulations.

Construction will take place in phases, according to documents submitted by development firm Taylor Wimpey, the applicant for the site.

The Cale Lane factory produced bread and crumpets before production was brought to an end in 2016, bringing with it dozens of redundancies.

In 2013 it was the scene of a high-profile dispute between a workers’ union and company bosses over the use of zero-hours contracts.