Wigan politicians ask minister to look again at homes plan

A CGI impression of homes at North Leigh Park

Makerfield MP Yvonne Fovargue and Hindley Green’s Coun John Vickers have written to Robert Jenrick, the secretary of state for housing, communities and local Government, requesting he “calls in” the recent approval of the North Leigh Park project.

Wigan Council planning committee last month backed 507 new houses over two sites and agreed with the developer that for viability reasons employment floorspace could be dropped from the application.

But Coun Vickers, in his letter to Mr Jenrick, says the decision goes against the town hall’s Core Strategy and asks the minister to overturn the approval.

Ms Fovargue is also supporting attempts to get the Government involved.

She said: “I have written to the secretary of state requesting that he look at exercising his powers to call-in this decision. This is a major application and Coun Vickers has raised concerns that warrant the attention of the minister.”

Coun Vickers says taking out the employment land is contrary to spatial policies laid down in the strategy and also involves a reserved matters planning application diverging considerably from the outline planning permission which was approved.

He also says removing a health facility from the plan, which the outline planning permission said would be part of a Section 106 agreement, brings approval into conflict with the strategy.

And he questions the removal of the employment land from the application when council policy is to bring forward suitable sites for businesses.

Coun Vickers said: “The application is contrary to the current Wigan Core Strategy approved in 2016 and the emerging Greater Manchester Spatial Framework. The decision is of more than local importance because it allows planning authorities to approve applications that go against the local plan currently in operation.”

Wigan Council’s planners concluded the application could gain approval because further health infrastructure was not needed, a point contested by local politicians, and there was no reasonable prospect of firms coming to the site.

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