Four-hour ‘Mexican stand-off’ in Wigan as automobiles block lorries heading to building website
A simmering row between residents and developers exploded when parked cars blocked lorries heading to a 150-home building site in Tyldesley leading to police being called
Kellen have been granted planning permission to use Wellington Drive as access to the site
Drama unfolded on a suburban street as parked cars blocked lorries heading to a 150-home building site. Wellington Drive, on Mosley Common, Tyldesley, Wigan became the scene of a nearly four-hour ‘Mexican stand-off’ on Monday, February 23.
Vans and cars that were stationed on the street – which has no parking restrictions – stopped lorries, a cement mixer truck and several other vehicles from reaching the nearby Kellen Homes Ltd development site. The area has been the focus of numerous complaints by residents about construction vehicles using Wellington Drive as an access point for the site, with many claiming the road is too narrow and unsuitable for a high volume of such traffic.
Kellen, who were granted planning permission to use Wellington Drive as access to the site from 8am on weekdays, said they had written to residents last week saying today (Monday) was the first time that larger lorries, carrying timber frames for the homes, would be using the route, reports the Manchester Evening News.
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The letter requested that residents’ vehicles should not be parked on the road so the larger lorries could get through. And a Kellen Homes director said they believed the vehicles were ‘strategically parked’ to cause obstruction – and gave them no choice but to call police to the street shortly after 8am.
At approximately 11.45am, a black HiAce Toyota van was hauled away, moments after a pink notice was positioned beneath its windscreen wipers stating it was creating an ‘unnecessary obstruction’. Following the van’s removal, building site traffic started to move through initially.
However, when the Local Democracy Reporting Service reached Wellington Drive at 10.30am, a blue lorry transporting tubing had ground to a halt, unable to squeeze between two cars parked on opposite sides of the carriageway.
Queued at the road’s entrance was another lorry laden with concrete tubes, a cement mixer truck with its drum turning and three additional smaller contractor vehicles.
Close by, a bigger lorry carrying timber frames, which was believed to be heading to the building site, was visible in a lay-by on Mort Lane. Tradesmen, construction workers, locals and a police officer were present on the street, watching the impasse.
The 150 properties on land adjacent to Wellington Drive represents the initial phase of a 1,050 dwelling development on former agricultural land in Tyldesley. At the present site all of the homes will be affordable, comprising 119 for social rent and 31 shared ownership.
In 2015, Wellington Drive was celebrated as the prime location to bring up a family in Greater Manchester. A study by Property Detectives disclosed that the region met all the criteria for family living.
Specialists evaluated factors such as school quality, crime rates, green spaces and population density to compile a ‘family friendly database’.
However, with recent development work underway, locals argue that this commendation is now firmly in the past. Recently retired Colin Howell, 63, and his wife Catherine, 55, are residents of Wellington Drive.
Colin, who likened the latest events to a ‘Mexican stand-off’, stated: “Since the construction traffic started a few months ago it’s been absolutely devastating. Noise, dirt, tipper wagons all day long, mud on the road.
“All this could be avoided if they opened up the access to the site on Mort Lane, they’re going to have to build it sometime.”
Catherine expressed: “We can’t keep the house clean, dust and dirt is wearing through our carpets. We take our shoes off and do what we can but the muck is getting inside. I believe that for Kellen Homes it’s profits and their construction programme before people.”
Paul Cowan, another resident frustrated by the situation, commented: “Wellington Drive is a residential street with no parking restrictions, but they want us to move out of their way. They obviously already know that the vehicles won’t fit – so why are they continuing to try?”.
“It’s simple – these types of vehicles just won’t fit on a narrow residential street,” another campaigner stated.
Tony Clayton, construction director for Kellen Homes, suggested that vehicles had been ‘strategically parked’ to obstruct the developer’s vehicles and other contractors.
He declared: “From today we are bringing in the timber frames which require articulated lorries bigger than a normal 16-wheeler truck. Under the approved planning permission and conditions Wellington Drive is the access route.
“We have done everything in our power to handle a delicate situation to the best of our ability. We are a responsible developer.”
He further noted that a banksman had been assigned to ensure that no site vehicles entered the area before the designated planning condition time of 8am.
