WIGAN Council’s planning committee should be renamed the demolition committee because that is all it seems to be interested in with certain cases.

To an outsider its goal seems to be the demolition of Formby Hall no matter what is said by the public.

I lost my faith years ago in the council ever playing with a straight bat and truly taking notice of communities’ wants and needs.

This so-called planning committee is operating as a demolition committee with a very narrow artificially created remit which appears to be a joke.

I was very involved as a member of the now gone very active Leigh Residents’ Forum pressure group which was around for many years, including the period when the council wished to allow a retail park to be built on Grasmere Street playing Fields.

This meant the digging up of Leigh East’s rugby field and the open common playing field with its attached small children’s play area.

More than 340 well written letters of objection from concerned and sincere residents were sent in to the council, including some from a local school.

I myself in the past, just as a member of Atherton Residents’ Association, spoke for the allotted four minutes on another issue in front of the planning committee that seems to do hardly any planning in these cases due to the silly imposed remits.

In fact I feel that this committee seems to run away from issues, using any cop-out it can think up, by saying it is only there to decide on the method of demolition, for example.

Years ago I spoke for four minutes to try to stop a retail development come about on the Grasmere field.

I and others wanted instead to help to create a much needed healthy community park in that restrictive built-up area, to help improve the quality of life for the residents.

All efforts by many, not just me, were a waste of time.

The council allowed the retail park project to go ahead because at that time the sale of the land underpinned the continued building of the Leigh Sports Village, along with the help of other income coming in from the selling off three other sites, including the Holden Road running track.

However due to the massive worldwide downturn of trade in those years, I understand that Greenbank Partnership Ltd mothballed it for a good number of years.

In fact it was never built.

Then along came yet another idea to swallow up this much needed open space, which was the mental health unit in a built-up area.

By then I had lost hope and thought the residential park we wanted was never going to happen.

So I and others just gave up as the council always seems to get what it wants.

Does the council actually care about the community?

Residents’ wishes seem to be somewhat unimportant to the council.

The council seems to see residents as a nuisance as it gets round their wishes with out of the blue rulings, what appear to be instant rule changes and last minute goalpost moves.

Phase one of the mental health unit that has soaked up the last piece of healthy open land in the area is now near completion.

David W Hull

Gordon Street

Leigh

Mike Worden, Wigan Council’s assistant director for planning and transport, said: “The planning committee is made up of democratically elected council members and represents the political make-up of the council.

“All planning applications must each be considered against national and local planning policy and on their own merits having regard to material planning considerations, which include the potential impacts on the green belt and agricultural land, as well as their impact on neighbouring properties and in the wider landscape.

“Objections from members of the public are considered very seriously. All letters against and in favour of planning applications are available for all the committee members to read and the public can speak at the meetings to address the councillors directly.”