A preliminary breakfast meeting with business leaders was held in May and the first public consultation events were in mid June.
Consultation Feedback - June 2012
Council engineers and planners have thanked residents for taking part in a series of consultation events about the proposed Westwood Park and A49 link road scheme.
Officers spoke to nearly 100 locals in both the Lower Ince and Poolstock areas at sessions last week. Visitors were able to discuss their individual concerns, study plans and leave feedback forms with comments.
“We’re grateful to everyone who took the time to attend,” says Cllr David Molyneux, deputy leader and champion for the economy. “This scheme is our best opportunity to deliver much needed jobs and better transport links to serve a critical regeneration need. And we need people’s views to ensure we deliver the right result which benefits the whole of the borough.”
The main issues raised by residents were:
- Respecting the landscape through which the planned A49 will pass: Planners are keen to retain trees where possible and plan new trees which will add to the screening proposed around the road. At the meetings, planners explained that modern road surface techniques cut traffic noise, street lighting can be adjusted and dimmed and modern lighting shines only downwards. Noise barriers and other mitigation methods are essential to any planning application.
- Keeping and improving access to the Wigan Flashes: a new visitor centre is proposed and footpath and cycleway improvements are proposed. Visitors got the chance to see plans to promote the Greenheart regional park that includes the flashes. The road plans do not encroach into the flashes themselves.
- Poolstock Lane: most visitors recognised that eliminating HGV and unnecessary commuter traffic from the B road would be a benefit to the community there. Further consultation is planned so that Poolstock residents can discuss local road safety and traffic issues.
Some residents wanted to see the scheme implemented immediately and were comfortable that their input into earlier road plans for the area had been heard. Others left specific concerns on the feedback forms and will be responded to by officers in detail. A planning application is expected to be made later in the summer.
Write to us:
Westwood Park Scheme
Places Directorates (Infrastructure)
Wigan Council
Wigan Life Centre
College Avenue
Wigan
WN1 1NJ
Leaflets containing the information from these web pages have been distributed to properties in the areas adjacent to the Westwood scheme.
