Quick overview:
”We’ll fight it to the bitter end,” says owner
A farm where Blackpool Beach donkeys go for a well-earned rest during the winter is under threat ‘yet again’, according to its owners.
The land where Latham House Farm stands between junction 26 of the M6 and Spring Road, at Kitt Green, Wigan is named in the draft Local Plan for Wigan as an area for potential ‘high-quality’ employment development.
Furious farming couple Jimmy and Gillian Morris, whose family has tended the land for more than 100 years, now say they will fight any plans to move them ‘to the bitter end’.
Jimmy, 78, said: “It happened nine years ago, when this came up. Eventually, they said the land would stay in the Green Belt for at least the next 25 years.
“They [developers and Wigan council] keep trying this. We’re angry because they won’t leave us alone. We’ve been here for 100 years.”
Jimmy said they bought the land on which the farm stands in the 1980s to stop developers building at Latham House Farm.
He added: “I’ve been approached numerous times by developers wanting to buy the land, but I’ve always said no. We will fight this to the bitter end.”
Gillian, 58, said: “We’ve been looking after Blackpool donkeys in the closed season for 25 years. We love them. They are wonderful animals with so much character.
“They’ve worked hard all summer season and they deserve a rest.”
Wigan council’s cabinet looks set to approve the draft Local Plan when it meets next Thursday (April 17).
If the plan is finally approved, 600 acres of Green Belt land in Wigan will disappear, reducing the total area of the town with a designation from 55.7 per cent to 54pc.
It will then go out for public consultation for eight weeks starting on April 30 to June 24.
A report accompanying the draft plan speaks of ‘risks’, saying: “They primarily concern the proposals to release Green Belt land to create more job opportunities in the borough.
“This is likely to prompt strong opposition, primarily from people who live locally to a site. “We are working with the media and communications team to help get the right messages out at the right times and in the right ways.”
Copies of the document will be available via a dedicated webpage on Wigan council’s website and on paper in libraries at Golborne, Lamberhead Green, Leigh, Tyldesley and Wigan.
Seven drop-in sessions will take place from 2pm to 7pm at Pemberton, Golborne, Tyldesley or Astley, Leigh, Hindley, Atherton and Ashton-in-Makerfield where people will have the chance to discuss the issues with planners and other town hall officials.
Final submissions on the plan will be made by May next year. The plan will go for public examination by the Government in the autumn of 2026, and it will be finally adopted in January 2027.
Wigan’s director of place Aidan Thatche, said: “This Local Plan takes a ‘brownfield first’ approach, looking first at previously developed land to allocate sites for homes, jobs, transport, green space and much more, ensuring our borough develops in the best way for current and future residents over the next 15 years.
“The site of Junction 26 of the M6 has been included in this plan, as a key opportunity to build on the success of Martland Park, the home of Heinz, and create substantial, high-quality employment, creating jobs for people in our borough.
“Changes to national planning policy mean that there is a very strong case that this site is now within ‘grey belt’ and, as such, the council has a responsibility to bring forward it in a responsible way and not leave it vulnerable to inappropriate development by external parties.
“Subject to agreement at cabinet, this Plan will be out for public consultation at the end of this month and we would encourage everyone to find out more about our wider ambitions for the borough, and share your views.”
Published: 2025-04-13 05:39:23 | Author: [email protected] (Nick Jackson) | Source: MEN – News
Link: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Tags: #farm #Blackpool #Beach #donkeys #wellearned #rest #threat
