An independent audit into the so called Cruise Liner warehouses on a Wigan Industrial estate has concluded that the consultation with residents by both the council and the developer was inadequate and could have prevented many of the future problems if it had been addressed properly
In June 2024, Wigan Council’s Planning Committee considered and approved an application for the development of warehousing units on land at Astley Business Park. This land has been designated for warehousing development since 2006
The subsequent development proved extremely controversial locally particularly when the full extent of the buildings permitted has become apparent during construction which resulted in local residents and politicians re-examining the planning processes leading up to building development.
Wigan Council commissioned an independent report by POS Enterprises as complaints over the development multiplied
The report concluded that the planning permission as granted was consistent with national and local legislation and procedures and that the decision makers at officer and member level took the decision in full knowledge of the relevant factors which were necessary to come to a reasonable and balanced view based on the planning merits.
However the report said that there were a number of issues which, while not
prejudicing the decision, could have improved the process
It described the developer’s pre-application consultation with local residents as being wholly inadequate and said that a better consultation may have identified where there
may have been scope to amend the scheme before submission of the application.
It also said that the council’s consultation could also have been more inclusive.
The neighbour notification met with the basic requirements of the Code of Practice for Publicity for Planning Applications but did not consider that this development was likely to ‘create wider concern’ which could have led to wider publicity.
Unsurprisingly, they added, the local reaction soon created a more widespread awareness of the proposals, and many objections were received 18 from residents not originally notified.
Once building had started there was strong local reaction. The two main thrusts of this were ‘How did this happen?’ and ‘what can be done now?
In a response to the report Wigan Council say that In total, 96 individual objections were received, including several from multiple people at the same address.
Every objection was made available for Planning Committee members to view, and the issues raised were set out in the officer’s report, to ensure members could make an informed decision.
Following approval, there was a six week window in which anyone objecting could seek a legal challenge of the decision. No challenge was made during this period. It was only in spring 2025, when the site was under construction, that complaints about the development began to be raised
It added that:
it’s important to highlight that many others were built after the site was designated for employment development, and after the previous outline planning permission for employment development (offices, manufacturing and warehouses) had been granted. This information would have therefore appeared in property searches at the time the houses were purchased.
The council also acknowledged the strength of feeling among residents and have worked with them and the developer to resolve issues on site.
‘We believe that it is critical that the planning system strikes the right balance between deep local engagement and the need for efficient decision making in a policy-led system, and we will be submitting a copy of this response to the Government as part of that conversation.’
