Peel reduces Gibfield Park industrial aspiration by 100,000 sq ft
Having originally planned to deliver around 490,000 sq ft of employment space as part of the Wigan masterplan, the landowner has decreased the overall amount to 375,000 sq ft.
Peel Land has today begun a second consultation on its plans for the on 173-acre Gibfield Park between Atherton and Westhoughton, having sought feedback on its initial plans earlier this year.
While the number of homes proposed remains the same at 500 – including 170 in phase one – the amount of industrial space has been cut significantly following feedback from the public.
Now, around 375,000 sq ft of employment space is proposed between Gibfield Park Way and Schofield Lane.
Peel has also tweaked its approach to afford greater flexibility down the line; subject to future planning applications, some of the employment space could instead come forward as additional homes and a local centre, the firm said.
The layout of the employment development has also been revised so that all buildings are now set back at least 65 metres from residential properties along Schofield Land and Wigan Road and separated by a five-acre green corridor. This element of the scheme is especially poignant given the controversy around Astley Park, another non-Peel Wigan industrial scheme, which has angered residents due in part to the proximity of units to their houses.
As previosuly planned, much of the site would be given over to a 71-acre country park, meaning large parts of the allocation would remain as green space.
A spokesperson for Peel Land said: “We would like to thank the local community for engaging in our consultation on the masterplan for Gibfield Park earlier this year. We’ve listened to the valuable feedback we received and made several important changes in response including; reduced warehouse space, set clearer limits on where development can take place and the height of future buildings
“In addition to this, the introduction of a Green Corridor will provide a large, green space which would sit between existing homes and future development.”
The spokesperson added: “We have also worked up our plans for the first phase of Gibfield Meadows and look forward to receiving feedback on that. We know people care deeply about the future of Gibfield Park and this dual consultation is an opportunity to show how proposals have evolved and enable the community to continue to shape the overall plans and the first phase of delivery. We encourage everyone with an interest to review the updated proposals and share their views.”
Turley, NJL Consulting, and Lucid are advising Peel.
The site is allocated for development in the Places for Everyone joint spatial plan for Greater Manchester. It is located within the NorthFold growth corridor, which spans both Wigan and Bolton.
Overall, the corridor could accommodate 9,000 homes and more than 3m sq ft of industrial space. Last year, Peel Land unveiled a vision for another site within the NorthFold corridor; the 240-acre Lee Hall development, which comprises plans for 1,400 homes and 270,000 sq ft of employment space.
