'No opportunity' for responses to warehouses plan

An independent review has found residents were not given enough opportunity to respond to plans to build four large warehouses that overshadow their homes.

Some residents of the Henfold Estate in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, said their house sales had fallen through due to the development.

An independent audit into the decision-making process behind the scheme's approval has found local residents were given "no meaningful opportunity" to engage with the proposals before the application was submitted.

Wigan Council said the audit confirmed they had adhered to national planning guidance but they acknowledged there were areas for improvement. Developer PLP has been contacted for comment.

The 350,000 sq ft (32,500 sq m) Astley Business Park development was built by PLP.

In a statement the developer said the report had found planning permission as granted was "consistent with national and local legislation and procedures".

A PLP spokesperson said more than 200 residents had been contacted over the plans, and it had held meeting with councillors and other to discuss them.

They said the scheme had "evolved significantly" after this, and added PLP would "continue to work constructively with all stakeholders as the project moves forward".

The independent audit was completed by POS Enterprises in December.

It was commissioned by the council following "a significant number of complaints from local residents during the construction" of the warehouses.

The audit findings said the development had "proved extremely controversial locally particularly when the full extent of the buildings" became "apparent during construction".

They identified a number of issues with procedures "which, while not prejudicing the decision, could have improved the process".

The audit also concluded that "developer pre-application consultation with local residents was wholly inadequate".

The scale and nature of the development was also found to have differed materially from previous proposals, making reference to "activity on a 24/7 basis and the additional height and bulk of the buildings".

This suggested a broader consultation would have been appropriate, "including additional properties which have a view of the development".

Later "antagonism" between local residents, the council and the developer could "have been avoided or at least reduced" if early and meaningful engagement had taken place, it found.

Residents have spoken of the impact the construction has had on their mental health.

They have also said it has led to "atrocious" flooding.

Astley Warehouses Action Group said: "Given how tightly restricted the scope of this audit was, residents are entitled to question whether commissioning it represented good value for taxpayers' money."

A spokesperson said: "We will continue to seek accountability and clear answers on how this development was handled and on the issues residents are still living with as a result."

They said the findings echoed "concerns raised" by the action group "consistently", including "the absence of meaningful early engagement with affected households" and the "failure to consult more widely despite clear indicators of wider impact".

They said the audit findings also supported their concerns that local feeling was underrepresented - and that the reality of the full scale of the development only became apparent once construction was under way.

A Wigan Council spokesperson said the audit confirmed that planning permission granted in 2024 was consistent with national policy and legal frameworks but had also highlighted "some areas to consider in order to maximise transparency".

"As a learning organisation we will reflect on these and make any necessary adjustments to our procedures going forward."

Many properties had been built after the site was designated for development - after previous outline planning permission had been granted, they added.

"We fully acknowledge the strength of feeling among residents and have worked with them and the developer to resolve issues on site," they said.

They added they were working with the developer "to finalise the updates to the permanent site drainage design, that were initially brought forward before Christmas in response to residents' concerns about flooding".

CORRECTION - 10 January 2026: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the Peel Group as the developer, rather than PLP. While Peel Group retains a minority stake in PLP, the latter operates as a standalone entity

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