Council urged to stop developers ‘cutting up green land’ amid 57-home estate plans

Planning officers have recommended that the proposed Prospect Homes estate near Bettison Avenue should be approved – despite 74 objections from residents and councillors.

Objectors say the access road is "too narrow", while also expressing fears over the loss of greenfield land, extra traffic, and impacts on local infrastructure.

The developers say the 4.2-acre site is sustainable enough to deliver a range of "high quality, high specification" homes for the community.

But many residents have taken issue with the sole entry onto the site coming from Bettison Avenue, a residential cul-de-sac.

One objecting resident said reaching Bettison Avenue on roads leading off Warrington Road was "already difficult".

In a letter to the council, another wrote: “The area is already over-built, the roads are too narrow and increased traffic will make this very much worse.”

This is what the estate could look like once built. Picture: Prospect Homes/Woodcroft Design

The council’s highways department maintains that there would be safe access and that the estate "would not cause a hazard for motorists or pedestrians or significant congestion on these residential streets".

Another major point of contention is the development of the vacant greenfield land between Bettison Avenue and Bedford Brook. 

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While the land has become overgrown with trees, shrubs and Japanese knotweed, residents want the open space to be preserved. 

“There are large areas of Leigh and Wigan that are derelict or in desperate need of improvement,” said one objector.

“Please concentrate on the development of these areas instead of building on green areas, destroying habitats for wildlife, increasing pollution and building on land with totally inappropriate access.

“Have some consideration for our environment and build on brownfield sites instead on cutting up even more of our green and pleasant land.”

Wigan Council says greenfield sites must be considered alongside brownfield sites amid projections that 919 new homes are needed each year to satisfy local housing demand.

Under the proposals tabled by Prospect Homes, there would be a mixture of detached and terraced properties, with 40 three-bedroom houses, nine four-bedroom houses and eight two-bed houses.

Only seven homes would be offered as affordable, with market housing dominating the estate.

Local planning policy requires all new developments to have at least 25 per cent affordable housing, but Wigan Council says "viability concerns" expressed by the developer make the low affordable offer justifiable.

The planning application will be considered by the council’s planning committee on Tuesday, October 8.