There is going to be a massive redevelopment of the Horwich Loco Works with a £260 million investment, 1,700 new dwellings and an anticipated 1,350 new full time jobs.
Chris Green went to the Horwich town council meeting on Thursday 20th February which was open to the public to discuss the plans, such as they are. Considering that the work is going to over a 189 acre site and is going to last for 15 years, there was very little detailed information about what local facilities would be provided.
We need to hear about:
• Medical facilities
• Dental care
• School places
• Traffic management, congestion and link to the motorway
• Leisure facilities
Chris Green says "There will be fifteen years of disruption so we need to hear what benefits there will be for the current residents of Horwich, where the new jobs will come from and what will happen to the businesses that currently use parts of the site."
There are other plans being laid for more new housing such as at the college possibly at the golf course but there doesn't seem to be any joined up thinking from the council about the impact on roads and local facilities. One of the speakers at the meeting said that Horwich was being used as overspill from Bolton. We deserve better than this from our town and borough council!
Since there was so little information provided and there was very little information coming from the developers or councillors, the meeting became heated and disorganised so little progress could be made. There will now be a follow up meeting just about the Loco Works development at 6.30pm on Thursday 13th March at the Horwich RMI club.