Planners reject Standish housing plans

WIGAN Borough Council has knocked back plans for 250 homes in Standish.

Persimmon and Wilmslow-based Morris Homes had applied to build on a former golf course in the village, off Rectory Lane, but the council’s planning department said the area has already fulfilled a Government obligation for a pipeline of a 1,000 new homes.

The developers already have outline permission for 250 homes at the site.

Deputy leader David Molyneux said: “This underlines how seriously we’re taking the concerns of residents in Standish who are worried about the level of house building in the area.

“The Government – against our wishes – required 1,000 homes should be built in Standish. Although we opposed this, we concluded the best course of action was to adapt to the government’s demands and secure the best deal for Standish – by prioritising affordable housing and payments to fund improvements. Our assessments showed approximately 1,000 could be built in the area – as long as there was infrastructure investment.   

“The planning committee has given approval for schemes which could eventually see 1,042 new homes built. Now that those have been approved, although we must judge each application according to planning law, we are in a position to refuse further development if we think it is unsustainable.”

Morris and Persimmon had not responded at the time of publication.