Find, save and share Public Notices that affect you in the area.
Search the Public Notice Portal What is the Public Notice Portal?What is the Public Notice Portal?
The Public Notice Portal carries statutory public notices published in local newspapers and is the fastest and most effective way of finding out what is happening in YOUR neighbourhood.
Search the Public Notice PortalA Westhoughton farm may have to close its Easter horse show after 40 years due to the planned Lee Hall development.
Hooper Green Farm — which lies in the middle of the proposed development — holds its annual horse show on Good Friday, an event that was held last week but could prove to be the final one after more than four decades.
The land on which 83‑year‑old farmer John Hargreaves was born is under threat, jeopardising not only the show but his entire way of life.
"It's just absolutely heartbreaking, to be honest," said John, a widower.
"It threatens everything to me because I was born here - I wanted to die here as well."
According to John, Peel - which owns the land around the farm - first told him last year that something may be taking place, but said it would likely not affect him for 'three to five years'.
But with the latest developments in the situation, including the planned £70m for a new link road, things are now moving forward faster than John expected.
"They told me I could keep the house, but this farm is irreplaceable to me," said John.
"What use is a farm without land?"
Hooper Green currently houses around 53 horses for people in the neighbouring areas - animals John is very attached to.
"We have all different horses of all different shapes and sizes - geldings, females, young, old," said John.
"I love horses, I love all animals, really - I've been working with them my whole life.
"The horses are all happy here, they have plenty of space to graze - you can't make horses happy unless you have a bit of land to properly accommodate them.
"Where will they all go if we have to close the farm?"
John is also concerned about the effect the planned 1,450 houses will have on the Westhoughton community.
"They really are going to make a mess of Westhoughton," John said.
"It's already gridlock now - if they do this, Westhoughton won't even be Westhoughton anymore.
"When they first told me about it all last year it made me depressed - it was three months before I pulled myself round.
"Now, this is the same."
Share