Wigan councillors will visit the site where three warehouses could be built before making a decision on plan
Wigan borough councillors stung by the huge public outcry over “cruise liner” warehouses being built in Tyldesley have opted to visit the site of a similar planning application before giving it the go-ahead.
They will travel to land at Hindley Green Business Park, on Leigh Road, Hindley Green, to establish whether three 40ft-high storage warehouses can be built there, along with a car park for 339 vehicles and landscaping.
Members of Wigan Council’s planning committee unanimously agreed to visit the site after hearing there were 23 objections from residents living nearby.
They say the development would be “inappropriate” in a residential area and that there has been “no recognition” of the close proximity of homes in the locality.
Loss of privacy and fears of the development being an eyesore, as well as the prospect of excessive noise and the loss of trees, were also cited by the residents.
They have also complained that there has been “no communication” with residents.
One resident who addressed the meeting said: “Local residents have not been adequately notified.”
She alluded to the four 60ft warehouses being built at Astley Business Park towering hundreds of homes nearby, which were approved by councillors last year without a site visit and which have been featured in multiple news reports recently.
“I would have thought that bearing in mind what’s happened at Astley [more effective consultation] would have been standard,” she said.
Coun Stuart Gerrard agreed. He said: “I think we need a site visit. We need to learn the lessons of the past.
“When you come down Leigh Road you can see the existing building are pretty prominent.
“Otherwise, it could be a repeat of what’s happened in Astley. Without a site visit, the impact these warehouses could have might be difficult to visualise.”
The applicant is Kite Investments Ltd.
The site is at the back of a series of existing industrial buildings which form part of the business park and is used by a plant haulage and hire business for housing and maintenance equipment.
The proposed building would be L-shaped.