A former primary school in Wigan could be replaced by a social housing development with 47 homes. The site where St Mary’s Primary School used to be, which closed in 2004 and was demolished in 2015, would be brought back to use by Wigan Council who are aiming to bring more affordable housing to the area.
The plan is to create a mix of apartments, bungalows and two to four bedroom houses just off Derby Street in Ince. Should planning permission be granted, the properties would be let on an affordable rent basis and managed by Wigan Council.
Disused land that had become overgrown in and around the area would be brought back into use under this new proposal.
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Councillor Susan Gambles, portfolio holder for housing at Wigan Council, said: “I am delighted about this application for 47 new affordable homes on the site of the former St Mary’s School in Ince. It is the latest housing development aimed at meeting the needs of the borough’s residents.
“The proposal has been developed following the feedback we received from a consultation earlier this year. If the application is approved by the planning committee it would deliver a range of homes. The existing play area will also be refurbished.
“This is a really exciting proposal that would benefit many of our residents on our housing register. If planning is approved we hope construction would begin in early 2023. The build would take approximately 16 months.”
The Wigan Housing Needs Assessment confirmed that there are 1,763 households in need for Wigan North, where this development would be, with a total backlog of 656 affordable dwellings and the total annual affordable need for the sub area is 334. This is the highest demand of any sub-area in the borough.
“Core Strategy Policy relates to new housing in the Borough and directs this primarily to the ‘eastwest core’,” a planning statement said. “The policy requires 25 per cent of all new housing provision to be affordable on sites of 10 or more dwellings, a figure which the proposals significantly exceed.
“A total of 277 affordable dwellings are recommended per annum in the policy, which the proposals will help to meet. The proposals will complement the regeneration of Ince and the ‘east-west core’, encouraged in the Core Strategy.”
All accommodation will have parking, amenity and garden spaces provided. The plan was amended slightly following public concern regarding overlooking and now the pair of three-bedroom semi-detached houses has been changed to a semi-detached block of one-bedroom bungalows.
