Plans for 78 retirement apartments approved for development

A planning application was submitted to the town hall earlier this year for a three-storey building containing 78 affordable retirement living apartments and nine bungalows in Plank Lane, Leigh, together with associated parking and landscaping.

The application was approved by the authority’s planning committee last week.

Access to the 1.2 acre site will come from the adjoining Mitchell Street, following the demolition of the car showroom that currently occupies the land.

The one and two-bedroom rental apartments will be owned and managed by Torus Housing, and only available to residents over the age of 55.

Parking spaces for 30 cars will be provided, three of which will disabled car parking bays, solely for the use of those occupants of the apartments. The bungalows will each have a dedicated car parking bay, which will feature electric charging points for eco-friendly vehicles.

A number of concerns were raised by neighbours about the impact the development could have on their lives. Among the worries were the limited car parking provisions, unease about the three-storey building overlooking neighbouring houses. Questions were also asked about whether Mitchell Street is too narrow for construction vehicles to access the site.

One resident wrote: “A three-storey building will be able to see directly through my daughter’s window. Access via Mitchell Street is not feasible it’s already tight when our cars are parked while we are at home we have nowhere else to park our vehicles.”

Another said: “Mitchell Street also has a number of ambulances visiting the local care home so this again needs to be looked at if parking is going to increase in the area as it will delay the ambulance reaching the care home.”

The report concluded that there is a need for specialist accommodation for older people in the area, and that the new properties would help older residents maintain their independence as long as possible.

Full details of the proposals can be found at planning.wigan.gov.uk using the code A/20/88612/MAJOR