MAJOR plans for more than 500 homes, a new link road and a local centre with shops, offices and community spaces have been given the green light.

Two housing developments have been approved at North Leigh Park, off Nel Pan Lane, as part of a scheme which could see 1,800 new homes built in total.

A new road linking Leigh Road to Atherleigh Way has also been given the go ahead together with permission in principle for a new mixed-use local centre.

Countryside Properties applied to build 507 houses spread over two parcels of land which have both been earmarked for development by Wigan Council.

But it was previously agreed eight hectares of the land would be used to provide employment opportunities alongside the new housing.

Since then, the landowner went into administration and the development stalled until Countryside started construction of some houses in late 2019.

Principal planning officer Dave Rawsthorne told councillors that there is now ‘little prospect’ of providing employment floorspace at the site.

He said: “There are significant viability issues which affect the ability to deliver employment on this site, exacerbated by the remoteness of this site from the motorway network, which will affect delivery and impact negatively on rent yields.

“Members will probably be aware of significant employment opportunities that have been coming forward in Bolton – most notably the Amazon development at Cut Acre – and similarly, developments in St Helens which have easy access to the motorway corridors.”

Mr Rawsthorne also told the planning committee that the land in Leigh requires remediation as it is ‘heavily contaminated’ due to its mining history.

His colleague David Proctor revealed the development faces a £10m deficit which the Greater Manchester Combined Authority will be asked to finance.

But Hindley Green councillor John Vickers told the planning committee that the developer is simply concerned about ‘maximising profit’ from the ‘key site’.

Atherton councillor Stuart Gerrard had similar concerns about the application.

He said: “If we’re going to build back Britain better and become a Northern Powerhouse, just building houses and having nowhere to work in the area and in the borough is not going to achieve that.”

The independent councillor who abstained from voting on this application, also raised concerns about health care services in the area being overwhelmed by an estimated 4,500 new residents potentially moving into the neighbourhood.

Planning officers said that the borough’s clinical commissioning group (CCG) have assessed the plans and concluded that the additional consulting rooms and support staff that would be required should all 1,800 homes be built on the site could be accommodated at the recently built Wigan Road surgery.

There is also space for health care provision at the new local centre one of the sites which was granted permission in principle as part of a hybrid application.

Full planning permission was granted for 250 houses and a new link road, but two councillors abstained from voting in favour of this part of the proposals.

A second planning application for 257 houses together with some public open space on a neighbouring site was unanimously approved by the committee.