WE are told by our local councillors and the Government that there is a massive shortage of houses, yet I personally have not come across estate agents with either a notice in its shop window or advertisement stating ‘sorry, sold out’.

Your newspaper alone has several pages advertising property for sale or to let.

The borough currently has more than 15,000 applications for new developments approved, which is more than the Government directed in 2012 should be built by 2026.

So where is the shortage?

The Government has announced that there are just over 250,000 homeless people in the whole of the country.

It would seem Wigan Council leader Lord Peter Smith and his cronies would like them all here in Atherton, Leigh and Tyldesley.

Not Wigan of course, that is a no-no.

You don’t have to be very bright to realise this area is full to overcrowded and the situation should not be allowed to get further out of control.

Ron Smith

Mike Worden, assistant director for planning and transport at Wigan Council, said: “The Greater Manchester Spatial Framework is currently looking at the need for new homes across the region up to 2035, which takes into account future generations of housing needs, not just what is needed within the next few years.

“Right across the borough there are a number of housing developments with planning approval, and these are spread across a number of areas, with high levels of homes identified for Standish, Hindley, Golborne and Lowton, not just in Atherton, Leigh and Tyldesley.

“And nearly one-quarter of the supply identified to 2035 is also in Wigan.

“There will be a growing demand for houses due to an ever increasing population as more people are living for longer and living independently in their own homes.

“This is coupled with a steep rise in single occupancy.

“It is important to note that although there are a large number of homes approved, the number of houses actually being built each year falls below the required need for the borough as a whole.

“We have to meet housing need based upon evidence such as household forecasts and demographic change, and plans will not get through public examination without that need being addressed.”