Potential Future Re-development - Heysham Road

Firstly, you must consider why Barratt Homes never built on the land in the 1970's when most of the homes on Heysham Road were originally built.

Secondly, No's. 3, 5 & 7 were not built in the initial developments on Heysham Road and were a later addition. So, there was a second opportunity to build No. 1 on the proposed site which again was dismissed. There must be a reason why and it is suggested that the land is not actually suitable to build on. It is widely believed that there are mineshafts below the proposed area.

Part of the land holds water when there is heavy rainfall which creates a 2-4m puddle. This typically takes several days to drain away. If there was a new build on the proposed site where would this excess water drain to? The new foundations would displace the water collection and potentially cause flooding of neighbouring land/gardens.

Any new build of two storeys or more will block light and sunshine from adjacent properties and gardens: namely No. 3 and the bungalow on Bell Lane (No. 29).

On the proposed architectural plans there are several windows on each façade that look directly into all neighbouring properties and their gardens. This directly affects No's. 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 Heysham Road, and No’s. 18, 20 & 29 Bell Lane.

The proposed parking access to two of the properties from Bell Lane are very close to the junction with Heysham and propose a safety risk. At certain times of day there is heavy traffic in the area with local schools and people commuting to and from work.

A potential addition of four vehicles in such a small space will undoubtedly impact the area environmentally.

On the proposed plans there is an existing tree to be retained. If there is to be a footpath from Heysham Road alongside No.3 to the field, then this tree is already in the way and will need to be maintained. It has never been maintained in all of the years it has been there. In fact several residents continually manage the growth of the shrubbery on the land as the council have never undertaken this task.

One of the trees that would be felled has a nest in it that has annually returning blackbirds.

Where would waste bins be stored? Potentially there could be up to 8 bins to go out for collection which may cause access and rights of way issues in such a small space. All the current residents in the direct area manage their collections in a thoughtful manner. An additional 16 bins in total across the 4 proposed properties could pose a health & safety risk along with being an eyesore.

If the build is to go ahead, then aesthetically it will not match the existing properties in the area as they are all houses. The proposed front elevation will have 4 front doors . The ground floor properties should be accessed from the sides of the properties to look in line with existing properties.

It has been suggested that there isn’t any funding available from Wigan Council to build any new social housing. How is this project expected to be funded? Is it a national proposal with central funding?