Wigan warehouse development ‘soul-destroying’ for locals

A couple have said watching a “monstrous” industrial unit being built just metres from their back garden has been “soul-destroying”.

PLP, which is part of Peel Group, is constructing a 350,000 sq ft (33,000 sq m) site behind the Henford Estate in Tyldesley, Wigan.

Steve Retford, who has lived in his home for nearly 50 years, said the “sheer scale” of the warehouse being built 30m from his back garden was “staggering”.

Peel Group has been contacted for comment while Wigan Council’s director for place Aidan Thatcher said the planning application for four warehouses went through the local authority’s planning, consultation and committee process.

He said: “The final plans include landscaping which will help to screen and soften the appearance, and mitigate the impact on nearby properties.

“We will continue to monitor the site throughout construction, ensuring this development bringing new jobs and investment to the area is delivered properly.”

But Worsley and Eccles MP Michael Wheeler said “a better job could have been done” by the council to consult the “hundreds” of residents who had been impacted.

“I’m amazed it was ever approved in the first place,” he said.

“The impact this development is having on [residents’] lives is not small – I can see the distress it’s causing.”

Mr Retford said that while he knew the area would be used for industrial development, the final approved plans involved units that were much bigger than had been originally designed.

He said: “The early plans were low, one-level industrial units that would bring jobs to the area.

“We’re not Nimby [not in my back yard] people… but this took us by complete surprise.”

He said the development had killed his plans to sell up and downsize.

Others living nearby were also said to be struggling to sell their properties.

Mr Retford’s wife Carol said the new view of her backyard when she opened the curtains in the morning made her feel “absolutely sick”.

She said: “It’s life-changing, we don’t sit outside as much because of the noise and the dust.

“It’s soul-destroying.”

As work continues on the planned “Industrial and Logistics Business Park”, residents said they had been told to expect about 250 lorries to be working in the area 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Another resident, John Peters, described the situation as a “crisis”.

He continued: “But I’m more worried about the young couples who’ve bought new houses on the estate and whose future and investments are all threatened by this development.”