Families dwelling within the shadow of 4 huge ‘supersheds’ name probe into planning choices ‘tick-box train’

Families living in the shadow of enormous ‘supersheds’ have criticised the council’s handling of an ‘independent audit’ into their planning decision procedures – dubbing it a ‘tick-box exercise’.

The four bleak, grey warehouses – which stand up to 60ft tall – are part of developer Peel Group’s new Astley Business Park in Tyldesley, Wigan, and were signed off by the local authority in June 2024.

Hundreds of surrounding homes in the market town are dwarfed by the structures, with residents complaining the 350,000 sq ft site has caused endless issues for them.

Many have been unable to sell their homes or had thousands of pounds knocked off the value, leaving them trapped and in despair.

It has caused them sleepless nights, months of disruption on top of flooding their gardens and school-run routes, forcing parents to carry their children through muddy water. 

Teachers at a school just yards away said they struggle to conduct lessons as their voices are drowned out by the sound of works taking place.

Now, attention has turned to a promised ‘independent audit’ of Wigan Council’s planning decisions – intended to assess whether proper procedures were followed.

The four bleak, grey warehouses – which stand up to 60ft tall – are part of the new Astley Business Park in Tyldesley, Wigan, and were signed off by the local authority in June 2024 

Hundreds of surrounding homes in the market town are dwarfed by the structures, with residents complaining the 350,000 sq ft site has caused endless issues for them 

Parents had to piggy-back their children through an ankle-deep flooded path caused by four ‘monstrous’ 60ft tall warehouses

Residents say they have discovered only one person has been appointed to carry out the audit – and he has just two weeks to do it.

John Peters, 71, who lives next to one the warehouses, said: ‘We think it’s a tick-box exercise.

‘The auditor himself actually admitted to us that his brief and the timescales are very limited.

‘It’s a massive, massive job for one man to be conducting a review of 195 documents in just two weeks.

‘We’ve not been listened to or had our say. We just don’t feel like the council cares about us.’

Mr Peters claimed he and the other locals were ‘promised’ they would have a say in the selection of the auditors – but that never happened. 

‘We’ve been questioning the independence of this process all the way through,’ he added.

Campaign group Astley Warehouse Action said the two-week review came in the lead-up to Christmas, with hundreds of documents to assess.

They have previously warned that any council-controlled audit could not be independent.

After gardens and paths leading to a nearby school were flooded, residents complained to Wigan Council, saying the flooding had never occurred until construction started, with water levels reaching 1.5ft in parts of their gardens.

In response, the authority agreed to dig drainage channels to reduce flooding.

A campaign group has been set up to fight the development, with more than 200 people attending a recent meeting

A resident looks out into her back garden at the giant grey warehouses during their construction 

Resident Dawn Hornby had only just moved into her home when construction began. 

Overlooking the massive structure from her window, she told BBC News: ‘It felt like it went up overnight, it just grew and grew and grew. If you can imagine a football stadium in your back garden.

‘I never in a million years expected it this big. They just cheated everybody, I feel cheated.’

Ms Hornby said when she asked one of the workers what was going on when she moved in, they told her it would be ‘low lying’, adding: ‘You won’t see them, don’t worry love you’re not going to see it.’ 

John Peters, who is part of Residents Steering Group, has also seen his life transformed by the controversial development.

He said: ‘Suddenly, probably at the start of the summer holidays, this monster started to grow in the field. 

‘This is my retirement home and it’s a big, big disappointment to then see this happen.’

Daily Mail has approached Wigan Council for comment.