Plans for more houses in Wigan village could get green light - despite huge opposition

Persimmon Homes wants to erect 57 houses on Pepper Lane, Standish, along with parking, landscaping and other infrastructure.

Currently the site of a vacant bungalow, there would be a range of properties, including detached, semi-detached and bungalows, and 15 houses – 26 per cent – would be classed as affordable.

But the plan has triggered opposition in a village which has seen huge growth in recent years due to house-building.

A total of 172 objections were submitted to Wigan Council, with councillors Raymond Whittingham and Terry Mugan also opposed.

They included a range of concerns, including that Standish does not need more houses, its infrastructure cannot cope, the loss of green land and traffic issues.

Jonathan Kerry, interim deputy place lead (Wigan) at NHS Greater Manchester, said the proposal “raises significant concerns regarding the capacity of local GP services to accommodate the influx of new residents”.

He added: “This surge in residents will place additional pressure on existing GP services, potentially leading to longer waiting times for appointments and a strain on medical resources”.

He said more houses and residents would require “more resources, including medical staff, administrative support and medical supplies”.

Village forum Standish Voice also lodged an objection, with concerns that more houses would “put further pressure on overloaded infrastructure”, as Pepper Lane is “at full capacity” and Standish Medical Practice “cannot cope with additional residents”.

It said proposed access was “dangerous”, more vehicles would lead to more air pollution and the scheme breached Standish Neighbourhood Plan.

Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s concerns included the loss of biodiversity and impact on notable/protected species caused by the development.

Despite the opposition, the planning application has been recommended for approval and a decision is expected to be made by Wigan Council’s planning committee at its meeting on Tuesday, October 8.

A report prepared for the meeting states: “The proposal would deliver a high-quality residential development within a sustainable location on a site that is allocated as safeguarded land. It would make a contribution to market and affordable housing provision in the borough and would assist in the maintenance of a pipeline of deliverable sites.

“A detailed assessment of the proposed development by officers has confirmed that its impacts on highways and transport, visual and residential amenity, the environment, including ecology, trees and landscaping, flood risk and drainage arrangements, are acceptable, subject to appropriate mitigation which can be controlled by condition and/or planning obligation.

“The scheme has been carefully designed to respect its relationship with adjacent properties. Furthermore, the proposed development will meet an identified housing need in this area of the borough, which has been evidenced by the applicant and confirmed by the council’s housing enabling team."

This comes despite the report stating the number of houses already granted planning permission in Standish had surpassed that set out in a policy.

It is suggested there should be a section 106 agreement asking the developer to pay £284,715 towards the Standish Infrastructure Assessment Levy, £79,002 in lieu of on-site provision of play space, £42,294 in lieu of on-site open space and £185,669 towards off-site biodiversity net gain provision.

It states the levy funding could be used to boost accommodation for healthcare in the area, such as by repurposing space in existing buildings.

A Persimmon North West spokesperson said: “We’re pleased that the case officer has recommended these plans for 57 high-quality new homes for local homebuyers for approval.

“The new Government has rightly put housing at the top of their agenda so that people, particularly younger people, can afford to buy homes near their families and in the area they grew up.

“This development will provide a mix of homes for local people, ranging from one to four-bed properties, including bungalows, mews, semi-detached and detached dwellings.

“Our local homes guarantee – which has been received positively – will mean that local people will have the opportunity to purchase open market dwellings for a specified ‘lock out’ period before general sale.

“Not only will this deliver much-needed housing for local people, particularly young families trying to get on the housing ladder, but funding of almost £600,000 will be provided to the local authority to be spent in the Standish area.

“Almost half of this money will go towards local infrastructure as outlined in the Standish Infrastructure Assessment, including healthcare and education provision/facilities.

“As the case officer’s report says, this development will support local housing needs, create a visually attractive modern development and so we look forward to presenting this application in detail to members of the planning committee.”

But a Standish Voice spokesperson said: “It would be a dereliction of duty to agree to yet more housing in a village that has seen almost 2,000 homes built within a decade without improvements to crucial infrastructure.

“The report from officers fails to reflect the dire warning by the NHS locally that Standish’s GP services could potentially be overwhelmed by the addition of this development – an oversight which is misleading the committee about the gravity of the situation.

“The report admits a planning policy will be breached which says no new permissions should go ahead before the implementation of infrastructure improvements in Standish, needed because of previous development. They say these improvements will happen – but we are still waiting – and, if so, the permission for this site needs to be delayed until at least then.

“Passing this scheme would also breach another policy in Standish Neighbourhood Plan, adopted by the council, which prevents new housebuilding unless our infrastructure can cope. It cannot – especially in roads and health services. The developer will have to give £284,000 for improvements to address the NHS, schools and other challenges – will that improve the situation? No."