Estate plan creates ticking time bomb’

PEOPLE living near a canalside site in Leigh say plans for a 470-house estate will turn the area into a 'ticking time bomb! The homes of those living on Johnson Close and Norley Road sit nine metres below the banks of the Leigh branch of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.

- NICK JACKSON

The land adjacent, locals say, is the site of a former colliery spoil tip, which was landscaped in 1976.

Now they fear any development on the land could result in a landslide as well as flooding. An outline planning application by land owners Wigan council and the Canal and River Trust was granted in 2017 as part of the West Leigh Waterfront Masterplan. The 50 acres of land were once part of the Pennington Flash national nature reserve.