Wigan estate's nightmare taking out bins

Stanley Park, on Winstanley Street, near to the Saddle junction, is a housing development built by Gleeson Home.

A hill pathed with gravel leads up to the homes, which was chosen by Gleeson Homes in favour of tarmac.

The estate has no street lighting either, which has resulted in residents having to drag bins 50 metres in the dark.

Nicole Rourke, 26, lives with her partner Natalie and two children, Kian, three, and Tia, seven, on the estate.

She said: “We have to keep walking down the hill, and we can’t use a push chair because the wheels don’t spin on gravel.

“We want it tarmacing. At the time we reserved them over a year ago, we were told it was going to be tarmacked, but then they said they were going to be using gravel - after we reserved them.

“The bin truck can’t get up, either.”

People living on the street have to use the flashlight on their phones in order to light the way.

Two neighbourhood watch reports were sent out to residents on Stanley Park, after it was reported one car was broken into, and another one was attempted, on the estate.

Roberta Micci, 28, lives alone on Stanley Park and voiced her concerns over safety when taking the bins out.

She said: “I spoke to the council who said they couldn’t do anything because it needed to be tarmacked.

“Luckily the families on here have partners to help them with the bins, but imagine if they didn’t!

“Walking 50 metres in the dark with the bins doesn’t feel great with these safety issues.”

Gleeson Homes have two more similar developments in Wigan - Prince’s Park, also near Wigan town centre, and Millers Park in Platt Bridge.

A Gleeson Homes representative said: “We have designed and built a very attractive housing development with long private driveways.

“Bin collectors do not take their lorries onto private drives which is why our residents have to take their bins to the edge of the road.

“This is a small disadvantage of having a long private drive.

“The drives don’t have street lights because they are not part of the public highway system. We understand that Wigan Council will be installing the street lighting on the public highway shortly.”