Meeting Last Night - Update on Core Strategy

Last night we held another residents' meeting about the core strategy and thanks for all those that turned out.

The main purpose of the meeting was to first and foremost update residents with the work that the group has done. The first part of this was the document that we showed last night. If anyone would like a copy please email me at gareth.fairhurst@wigan.gov.uk . I will then send one over to you. I will try and up load a copy on the blog later or my facebook page so please feel free to revisit to try and download one if you do not want to email me.

The meeting was interesting because to me it demonstrated the confusion with all of this and many people thought that once the Council had said at the end of last year that no house building in Standish they meant that they will not be proposing to allow house building on three sites till 2026. These are the former Golf Course site, the land opposite and also the line, which is behind Standish High School. Around 2026 I guess we will be going through the same process as we have done recently.

It is good news that the Council for once have agreed with us and the residents that Standish should not allow housing building on these three sites. Because it is a legal ruling the Government have to agree with the plan and also approve the plan formally. This will take place in the format of a planning inspector coming to Wigan and reviewing the Council's plan and listening to Councillors and residents in March. But also he will listen to developers who will try and argue that the Council and us have got it wrong and Standish can  have more housing. We believe now that the Council is on our side we are in the strongest position for the planning inspector meeting for him to agree with us.

The situation mentioned above on the three sites come under the "Core Strategy". The Core Strategy only looks at the three green field sites mentioned above. There are other sites which will come under different policy names and it is important that we remember that some of these will have plans put in, which we should all fight too. We hear about the owners of Bradley Hall Trading Estate are looking to build a massive housing estate on half of that site. This will not come under the Core Strategy but a brown field site, although it is class as an employment area. When that application come in, which we hear will be in April of this year, we will fight that application too.

Thank you all for your support and if you have any information that you feel is important please ring, email or visit or Surgery and let us know about the information.

Together we can win!