Peel’s Pemberton homes to progress
Outline plans for up to 268 houses at the former Pemberton Colliery site have been approved by Wigan Council, with agreement that 13% of the site will be allocated as affordable housing.
Peel L&P’s planning application for the brownfield site at Smithy Brook Road is set to provide a mix of two, three and four-bedroom homes. The 29-acre site is bordered by the Kirkby to Wigan and Pemberton railway lines. The developer will also make a contribution to the M58 link road, part of which runs through the site.
More than seven acres of the site will be green including public open space, with maintained woodland habitat and pedestrian and cycle routes.
The scheme will now be taken forward by Peel L&P’s housebuilding division Northstone with a reserved matters application to follow later this year. Barton Willmore acts as planning consultant for Peel L&P.
Jonathan England, development director at Northstone, said: “This development helps Wigan to meet its short and long-term housing demand. Northstone will now bring these plans forward to create flexible, energy-efficient family homes.
“The evidence shows that it’s unlikely the former Pemberton Colliery site would be redeveloped for employment use.”
Although the colliery closed in 1959, the site remained allocated for employment use in the Local Plan. A report by Aherne Property Consultants argued that given this lengthy spell on the sidelines, the site clearly holds little appeal for industrial development.
Northstone is hoping to submit a reserved matters application by the end of summer, ahead of a hoped-for start on site in mid-2021.
