Residents in privacy concerns over new Wigan estate

A new housing development has sparked a debate on privacy issues among nearby homeowners.
The under-construction homes in Almond Brook CloseThe under-construction homes in Almond Brook Close
The under-construction homes in Almond Brook Close

A number of residents of Almond Brook Road in Standish, have been concerned about new properties being built behind their own, which are being constructed at a higher elevation.

Despite new fences being put up at the back of the Almond Brook Road properties in a bid to curtail any privacy problems, the height at which the new dwellings are being built means that the future homeowners could possibly, if they so desired, peer directly down into their neighbour’s bedroom windows.

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And despite raising these concerns with the council several months ago, one resident feels they are not being listened to.

Carol Gordon, who has been leading the dialogue with the town hall on behalf of the neighbours, said that while more homes was a positive move for Standish, their concerns over privacy had not been listened to.

“We are not opposed to the new housing,” she said.

“It’s bringing people to the area, and it’s good for business. But it feels like we are being ignored.

“We are not trying to cause trouble, we just want our privacy protected.

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“The first floor on these houses will look straight down into our bedrooms.”

She added: “We got in touch with the council at the start of June, because the houses are higher, we asked for the planning documents to be provided from the council.

“We don’t want to shout and scream about it, we just want to be heard and for our boundaries to be sorted. Maybe we could have some trees put in for our privacy.”

Carol has also been liaising with Adam Marsh, councillor for Standish with Langtree, who made “promising” progress after initially listening to the concerns, but that he has also found that the developers have been dragging their feet over the issue.

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Marie Bintley, assistant director for growth and housing at Wigan Council, said: “We are aware of residents’ concerns, however, this development was considered in line with national and local policy at planning stage and met the required planning standards.

“We are now in the process of monitoring that the work carried out so far has been built in accordance with the approved documents and we are keeping ward councillors updated with our progress.”