PROPOSALS have been sent to the council seeking approval to build 130 houses and commercial premises on former green belt land.
Outline planning permission is sought all for a mixed use development, including up to 130 homes at land to the west of Lodge Lane, Haydock.
Plans also include for a commercial development, consisting of up to 1, 650m2 floorspace.
Proposals were sent to St Helens Council by applicants Hollins Strategic Land and Messrs PS and DK Richardson in early 2022.
The site for the proposed development is “triangular in shape” and “bounded by the M6 motorway to the west, Lodge Lane to the east, The Parks office park to the north and Penny Lane to the south”.
An updated planning statement in the application stated: “The removal of the employment units from the proposals lead to a reduction in traffic generated and the loss of the proposed commercial access.
“The number of dwellings remains the same - up to 130 - so the changes result solely in a reduction of traffic impacts”.
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It says the plans include for a commercial development comprising of 0.42ha.
The statement added: “The application site lies in an area of land that has been taken out of the Green Belt in the adopted replacement local plan.
“It is not allocated in the plan for any particular form of development and therefore has ‘white land’ status”.
The application sparked numerous objections from residents who expressed worries over traffic.
One resident said: “I am already having to queue to getting in and out of my estate during rush hour having another 130 houses accessing Lodge Lane will cause complete gridlock! Lodge lane has a racecourse next to it and the traffic is horrendous on race days”
Another added: “In our opinion any further A49 traffic will also greatly impact not only ourselves but the already dangerous situation at Haydock Island. Because of the steady increases in traffic over recent years, caused mainly by warehousing traffic both locally and within the Wigan Borough using the A49, noise levels have certainly increased along, presumably, with the accompanying air pollution”.
Members of St Helens Council’s planning committee voted to approve the application, with authority delegated to officers to secure a legal agreement for bio-diversity net gain and education contributions.
Planning permission will not be formally issued until the this is completed.
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