Residents caught in '˜development trap'

The Lowton East Neighbourhood Development Forum (Lendf) hit out at the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework and accused the authorities of not listening to residents.

The group has previously said Lowton escapes relatively unscathed from the proposed long-term blueprint for meeting the area’s building needs.

But the sheer amount of developments earmarked for surrounding areas, including at the former Parkside colliery at Newton-le-Willows on an equivalent Merseyside document, risk making the area gridlocked, the group says.

Lendf suggests that if all the proposed schemes in the area go ahead there will be a continuous swathe of industrial units and new housing stretching from Newton all the way to the centre of Leigh, creating massive infrastructure and traffic problems.

Group chairman Ed Thwaite said: “I have said Lowton seems to come out of the spatial framework relatively well but it is what’s around us that is changing.

“All the way along the East Lancs Road there are going to be industrial units and then when you cross Atherleigh Way all the fields on the left-hand side are going to be housing. St Helens is also planning to take loads of green space around Parkside, going from Lane Head right down to the border with Winwick and Newton.

“It all goes back to the inquiry led by the Government inspector. He agreed with us that 3,000 houses in Lowton and Golborne was too much for the community to take, but here we are three years down the line and we’re throwing those plans up in the air and looking at grabbing even more land.

“This is not thinking about planning for the future or benefitting people who live here. It’s just driven by money and greed. Local and national government have stopped listening to people. They are destroying good land and our future and it’s time they started taking notice of the people who at the end of the day pay their wages.”

Lowton is pencilled in for housing under the framework, which looks at potential building sites up to 2035, in addition to sites close to junctions 25 and 26 of the M6 and in New Springs.

However, the developments causing more concern include Peel’s plan to construct a £161m logistics hub on the outskirts of Haydock, the Florida Farm North scheme for industrial buildings nearby (see page 15) and the ongoing efforts to build a freight rail terminal at Parkside.

Leigh and Makerfield MPs Andy Burnham and Yvonne Fovargue have committed to opposing the Peel scheme on the grounds the area will be unable to cope.

The consultation runs to January 16. To take part visit www.wigan.gov.uk/gmsf