People living near a canalside site in Leigh say plans for a 470-house estate will turn the area into a ‘ticking time bomb’.
The homes of those living on Johnson Close and Norley Road sit nine metres below the banks of the Leigh branch of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. The land adjacent, locals say, is the site of a former colliery spoil tip, which was landscaped in 1976.
Now they fear any development on the land could result in a landslide as well as flooding. An outline planning application by land owners Wigan council and the Canal and River Trust was granted in 2017 as part of the West Leigh Waterfront Masterplan. The 50 acres of land were once part of the Pennington Flash national nature reserve.
Amendments were submitted in 2024 by major housing developer Taylor Wimpey, with further variations to the house types proposed. These are now awaiting consideration by Wigan’s planning committee.
Frank Grimes
The site at Firs Lane and Plank Lane is surrounded by the canal, Westleigh Cricket Club, and established housing going back about 50 years. Neighbours in Johnson Close and Norley Road say the development should not go ahead because their homes are in a level three flood zone – meaning they are at a high risk of flooding – and surface water run off ‘is already a problem causing flooding in some gardens during winter months’.
They are worried that the removal of trees currently screening their homes from the raised canal banking will increase the risk of flooding. Resident Andy Hogg, 52, said: “What contingency will be in place if a canal breach occurs above Johnson Close over flood risk, and particularly in relation to the risk of colliery spoil landslip?
“As this development is being built on an unstable colliery spoil tip that was re-landscaped in 1976, I refer Wigan Council and Taylor Wimpey to the Fraenkel Report 1975 – and the section regarding the Leigh Branch of the Leeds/ Liverpool canal where it clearly outlines that this section contains colliery spoil along the canal and if the canal breaches there is a high risk of landslip. It’s a ticking time bomb.
An aerial view of the West Leigh Waterfront Masterplan
“Surface water is already a problem causing flooding in some gardens during winter months.” Specifically, the Fraenkel Report says: “As a result of mining subsidence, the whole length of this canal, which was originally at ground level on a slight slope is now almost entirely on embankment.
“The embankment, nearly 9m high in parts with 1:1 side slopes, has been raised in colliery waste with a clay core, and the channel bed in filled. We were advised that this branch suffered from continuous leakage problems and our survey also recorded some doubt as to the stability of the embankment and the possible risk of failure of both the ‘Aberfan’ type fill material and the subsoil.
“We therefore recommend that a thorough soils survey and stability analysis of the fill and subsoil be carried out as a matter of some urgency.”
The Aberfan disaster occurred in South Wales in 1966 when colliery spoil above the village collapsed, destroying homes and a school, killing 144 people, including 116 children. Andy added: “I would like to remind Wigan planning and Taylor Wimpey that the Leigh Section of the Leeds/ Liverpool Canal is over 200 years old and also a number of breaches have occurred on this section in the last 100 years – three known breaches of major concern.”
The Leeds Liverpool Canal is almost overflowing on this image
The mining spoil is from the former Bickershaw Colliery on nearby Plank Lane, which closed in 1989. Andy’s comments were echoed by Frank Grimes, 79, who lives in the home he built for himself and wife Edna, 78, on nearby Common Lane in 1989.
He has lived in the area all his life and tells how he saw colliery spoil being tipped on what was once farmland over the years, so raising the level of the canal banking above the level of the houses. “If they are not careful, it will finish up like Aberfan,” he said.
“They will remove the trees and there will be nothing to stop all the spoil slipping down. That was the reason they planted the trees in the first place.”
Johnson Close resident Roy Talbot, 75, agreed. “Getting rid of the trees will be a huge mistake. I’ve objected several times in the past and went to public meetings at Westleigh Cricket Club in 2017.”
Another resident who did not wish to be named said: “It’s not just the flooding risk, it’s the wildlife. There are bats, deer and newts there. And God knows what they are going to be digging up when they start building. In 2018, during the very hot summer, there areas of the flash where the mining spoil was that we randomly combusting.”
A Wigan council spokesperson said: “As an application is due to go through the planning committee we will not be able to comment at this stage.”
A spokesperson for Taylor Wimpey said: “We understand the concerns of some local residents regarding the flood risk at our proposed development off Firs Lane and Plank Lane, Leigh, and would like to assure them that drainage and flood risk assessments were considered as part of the planning application, which was approved by Wigan council in 2020.
“We will continue to work closely with Wigan council to ensure that the new development successfully integrates with the community.”