‘They’re trying to get me to sell my farm’: Owner of Blackpool donkeys’ winter home

The owner of a farm which her family have worked on for over a century has blasted the council, claiming they are trying to ‘persuade’ her to sell up her land to make way for a huge development.

Latham House Farm at Kitt Green stands in the way of a ‘high-quality employment site’, earmarked in the Wigan draft Local Plan which is currently out for public consultation.

The plan sets out planning and development objectives for the next 15 years.

But Gillian Morris, who runs the farm at Spring Road, between junction 26 of the M6 and Spring Road, is determined for her farm and donkeys to remain at the site.

Gillian and her husband, Jimmy, have been looking after resting Blackpool donkeys during winter for 25 years, and the family have farmed the land for more than a century.

She thought she had won the battle to prevent such a development when she successfully prevented the farm being taken over in 2016.

But at a public consultation event at Pemberton Masonic Hall on Tuesday, Gillian objected to a powerpoint slide in the council presentation which she says implied a deal for her to sell the farm might be on the table, as more than 300 people turned up to examine the plans.

“They had no right to do that,” she said. “They’ve tried to make it look as though I’m going to sell the farm, which is absolutely not going to happen. It’s like they’re trying to persuade me to sell – it’s outrageous.

“I fought this in 2016 and I will fight it again. I asked them to remove the slide but the council officials at first refused. I told them I would take the laptop away, if they didn’t remove it. Eventually, they complied.”

Wigan council say there was no suggestion on the slide that the farm would be sold.

The slide said: “We understand that the site promoters [the developers] have approached the owners of Latham House Farm. We would look to support both parties to achieve a mutually acceptable outcome, if needed.”

The draft Local Plan sets a target to deliver 16,527 new homes ‘in the right locations’ by 2029 as well as new ‘high-quality employment sites’ in the M6, the A580 (East Lancs Road) and the Wigan-Bolton growth corridors with the aim of creating thousands of jobs.

On land near to junction 26 of the M6, some 1.6m sq feet of employment space is being put forward in the plan – believed to be a 140-lorry park and three mega warehouses.

However, other residents and a local councillor voiced their opposition to the plan at the consultation meeting.

Pemberton Coun Eileen Rigby said she was ‘totally in support’ of residents objecting to the plans, regardless of the fact that she is a member of the controlling Labour group on Wigan council.

“I am not on the planning committee,” she said. “But I have made my feelings known and I will continue to do so.

“There are lots of empty warehouses in Wigan, this site is not needed. I feel so sorry for Gillian. They were promised eight years ago, they would be left alone by the council, and now they come back with this. And it would make the traffic going into Pemberton from the motorway so much worse.”

Her views were echoed by residents Anne Fairhurst and Karon Baldwin, “The noise and pollution from the side is going to be horrendous,” said Anne. “That’s not to mention the traffic around here, which is already awful.

Karon added: “It’s a hugely disturubing that they think they can take so much Green Belt land away.”

Peter Sumner, 75, who lives nearby said: “At the moment, I’ve got a lovely view from my bungalow over green fields towards the M6. If this goes ahead, all I’ll be able to see is a huge warehouse. 

“And I’ve looked at the plans and I can see no reference to any possible access road, which they will need for such a development.”

Sarah Keenan, 46, said she lives on an housing estate nearby where there are a large number of elderly people who don’t have access to the internet.

“What I find disturbing is that the online consultation is excluding these people. I also find it very disconcerting that there are very few planning notices, even though they are inviting people to comment. It seems very much like a box-ticking exercise, but they are filtering out the older residents from the process.

“But it’s important for people to understand that they must object, and that they don’t think it’s a done deal.”

The ramifications of the plan could be much more serious for neighbours. Nikki Craven, 44, and Mick Nanyn, 42, each live in homes on Orrell Road that could be demolished if the plan goes ahead.

They say their homes are among four that would be at risk of being subject to local authority compulsory purchase orders (CPOs), although there is no specific reference to this in the draft Local Plan.

CPOs are the process by which properties are bought up to make way for new development.

Nikki said: “I am absolutely disgusted with this whole thing. It looks like I’m going to have to fight this to the bitter end.”

Mick has lived in his house for 15 years. “This is appalling,” he said. “They have no right to do this. We are totally against what they are trying to do.”

Wigan council’s director of place Aidan Thatcher told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “The 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 create substantial, high-quality employment, creating jobs for people in our borough. The proposed link road between the M6 and Spring Road would also provide direct access to Martland Park and help reduce HGV movements around Orrell Post, Pemberton town centre and City Road.

“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 it forward in a planned way and not leave it vulnerable to inappropriate development by external parties.

“The views of residents, businesses and other stakeholders are really important to us, and we encourage everyone to share their views as part of the ongoing online public consultation at wigan.gov.uk/futurewigan.”