Homes plans at Thompsons Farm, Lowton recommended for approval

The 69 homes planned on land at Thompsons Farm will form the latest phase of the Bloor Homes estate being built at the site off Heath Lane.

Wigan council planning officers feel that the mixture of two, three and four bedroom houses, along with two one-bed apartments, will meet local housing needs.

Of the homes proposed 17 are affordable and would be managed by a registered housing association, according to planning documents.

But the latest development has provoked a fierce reaction from residents, as well as Conservative MP for Leigh James Grundy and councillors Gina Merrett, Yvonne Klieve and Susan Gambles.

There have been long-held concerns around the overdevelopment of Lowton and neighbouring Golborne with some locals fearing that their communities are slowly losing their identities.

One objector said: “Lowton is a village and should be treated as such, not simply using the surrounding land and location as a profiteering opportunity.”

Bloor Homes’ new application was presented to the council’s planning committee in June but a decision was delayed to allow members to visit the proposed site.

It will now go before the committee on Tuesday September 22.

Earlier this year a petition signed by more than 500 people was delivered to Wigan council calling for an end to an ‘absurd’ amount of housebuilding in the area, while also stressing the need for improved infrastructure.

Campaigners from the Traffic Action Group for Lowton and Golborne say that further development would compound existing traffic and speeding problems.

An objector to the latest Bloor Homes plan wrote: “The traffic is horrendous, the village is gridlocked everyday.

“It’s dangerous for children getting to school, it’s impossible to get out of the village and it is unhealthy.

“The roads can not handle any further traffic that the houses would bring.”

Another said: “Lowton has already taken considerably more than its fair share of ‘new’ housing in Wigan borough. It has become a gridlocked car park for large portions of the day. ”

Meanwhile there are concerns around air pollution and the loss of open space, though the land does not fall within the protected green belt.

Many objectors have also pointed out that the number of homes already approved in the area exceeds the 1,000 target proposed as part of the council’s long-term housing strategy.

But Wigan council has already been told that this is not a viable reason for refusing development, having been forced to pay compensation after losing an appeal for a separate planning application for homes at Rectory Lane in Standish.