More than 100 objections have been submitted after plans to build a housing development of 470 homes in Leigh have re-emerged. West Leigh Waterfront was brought to light back in 2016 and has remained a point of controversy since with road infrastructure, pollution, wildlife destruction, flood risk and land instability all being causes of concern for protestors.
The land next to Pennington Flash would see internal access roads, public open space including play facilities, and car parking for West Leigh Cricket Club in addition to the houses. Of the 470 homes being built by Taylor Wimpey, 118 would be affordable housing.
There are fears amongst residents that this proposal, close to the Pennington Wharf development, could lead to the roads around it to become rat runs, according to the West Leigh Waterfront Residents Action Group.
“Plank Lane Swing bridge is not designed to cope with an additional 920 vehicles from this development and 1200 vehicles from the Pennington Wharf development and additional through traffic that will use the primary link road,” they said. “This is a one lane road which leads to Plank Lane and Slag lane.
“Having another primary link road in this area will increase traffic flow further and create a ‘rat run’ through the development with a potential bottleneck at the Twist Lane roundabout – where traffic congestion from Wigan Road is already a significant problem during peak times.”
An officer’s report documented that 154 representations were made from members of the public who raised additional points regarding a lack of need for the housing, the loss of open space and the design and character of the development.
The consultation process did have issues, first being delayed due to the Covid pandemic and then more recently the email sent to residents who wanted to voice their opinion was incorrect. Despite this, the application has been recommended for approval and the planning committee will make a final decision on Tuesday, June 14.
The developer wanted to highlight that Wigan Borough Council has assessed the development as providing a biodiversity net gain. In addition to this, they will provide a financial contribution of £440,000 towards biodiversity enhancement works at the nearby Bickershaw Country Park site.
A Taylor Wimpey spokeswoman said: “We have worked closely with Wigan Borough Council, key stakeholders and local residents to ensure that our proposed development meets the needs of the local community. The site has outline planning permission for up to 470 homes and our reserved matters application accords fully with the principles of this permission.
"We are grateful for the feedback provided by local residents, which has been considered in our final designs. We are also pleased to have received a recommendation to approve from planning officers, with no objections from statutory consultees.
“We look forward to presenting our proposals to councillors next week."
