Wigan shops could be transformed into homeless shelters for rough sleepers

A retail unit on Ridyard Street in Pemberton and a former Warwick Road store in Atherton could be turned into a four-bed and eight-bed accommodation for rough sleepers respectively.

The two applications from Wigan Council have come after they identified ‘a requirement for interim accommodation for the homeless and rough sleepers’, a planning statement said.

Their hope is that these two applications would meet the current demand.

Both sites will contain single bedroom units with shared kitchen, bathroom and living areas.

There will be cycle storage and car parking available for those wanting to access the sites which are both in residential areas of Wigan. The planning statement said this application would lead to more comings and goings at the site – but this would not “lead to any undue harm regarding noise and disturbance that would be detrimental”.

“The proposed development seeks to maximise the use of existing buildings, whilst maximising the delivery of housing on brownfield land,” the planning statement said. “Although, the development would lead to a loss of some commercial floorspace within a local centre, it is considered that the additional residential use on the site would respect the built form of the local centre and is set away from the other retail units within the centre.”