Another 69 homes approved for Wigan village - despite 1,000 objections

Plans for the new housing at Thompsons Farm in Heath Lane, a mix of two to four-bedroom dwellings and two duplex apartments, have been approved.

Some 17 of the new homes will be run by a registered affordable housing provider.

The planning committee approved the plans by Bloor Homes this week with one councillor describing it as an “attractive” development he would live in.

But Wigan Council received more than 1,000 objections from residents.

Speaking on behalf of residents at the virtual meeting, which was held via video conference on Tuesday, Linda Graham told the committee of “major issues” with traffic congestion and pollution in the Lowton and Golborne area where housing expansion is straining local health and education services.

She said: “It’s time to call a halt to development in Lowton and Golborne. More houses means more cars, means more pollution. We live here and we urge you to refuse consent.”

But Bernard Greep, planning director at Santec, who spoke on behalf of Bloor Homes at the meeting, highlighted the council’s highways and transport officers comments, claiming the scheme is likely to have “little or no impact”.

Lowton East councillor Kathleen Houlton, who sits on the committee, said hundreds of homes are being built in “salami slices” in the surrounding area.

She said: “It’s a town within a village. There are no amenities, no facilities, there’s nothing for the children.

“Lowton used to be a village, it is now nothing but a glorified housing estate with no amenities. We’ve got half a dozen shops. Transport is practically non-existent.

“We’re just a desert of houses with no amenities.”

Atherton councillor Stuart Gerrard also voted to refuse planning permission.

He said: “I think we’ve got enough reason to turn this down – as much as it pains me because I think the development would be quite good – but I think it’s just too much in such a small area and it’s such a small community.”

But all other councillors on the committee voted in favour of the proposal.

Leigh West councillor Susan Greensmith voiced concerns that if the application is not approved, the decision would be successfully appealed.

Leigh East councillor Fred Walker urged the committee to approve the plans.

He said: “I think it looks like an attractive development. Somewhere that it would be nice to live.

“I’d love to keep the little towns that we used to have in their pristine condition, but the world’s not like that.

“I would love to revisit those older years, but I also know all the pitfalls of those years and I remember when the whole of our borough seemed to be slagheaps.

“So I’m very comfortable with accepting this. I’d much rather that we left it for a year or two, but at least we’ve got a developer that seems to be fulfilling our requirements and I do think it’s a particularly well-landscaped development.”