Bolton West MP Chris Green has formally objected to proposals for the building of houses on Horwich Golf Club. His full objection can be read below:
"I am writing in order to submit my objections to planning application number 02434/17, regarding the proposed development of up to 300 houses at Horwich Golf Club.
The golf club development will introduce hundreds more cars to the area and further negatively impact upon local roads, such as Chorley New Road, which are frequently congested already. The proposed access roads to the site - Victoria Road, Bond Close and Mayfair - also present substantial problems. Bond Close and Mayfair are quiet residential areas with low levels of traffic, while Victoria Road already has congestion problems. Using these three roads as access points will substantially increase congestion in the nearby area. Furthermore, these roads are often used by residents for parking, with both sides of the highway frequently occupied. I am concerned about how these roads will be expected to cope with a further increase in traffic and the damage that is likely to be done to parked cars along the access roads.
Regarding health services, doctor's surgeries in Horwich are already difficult to book appointments with due to current demand. These plans will lead to an increase in the local population, thus creating higher demand for these services. With hundreds more cars due to be added to Horwich roads by the completion of this development, I have concerns about how this congestion will affect the response time of emergency services when they need to access the busiest roads in the area. Furthermore, the increase in cars will also lead to more emissions and result in more air pollution in the most congested areas.
On the topic of leisure, following the closure of the old leisure centre, it has become evident that the new centre has had a substantial reduction in the range of services available and many local people have concerns that the existing services that are not already full will soon be taken up. With many existing residents struggling to access leisure services in the area, this would also mean that new residents who move into the area through this housing development will also not have access to leisure provision, as the new centre has not been expanded enough to meet the population rise.
With regards to education, many parents in Horwich have struggled to secure a school place for their children. As there are no plans to create new school places in Horwich, I have deep concerns about where the children who live in this development will go to school. Parents will either be forced to send their children to schools with available places - which may be some distance away and require the use of a car, therefore leading to more congestion on our roads - or Horwich schools will be forced to take on an even higher number of pupils, thus further saturating local schools. With no plans to introduce new services like this in the area, I have deep concerns about how existing services will accommodate such an increase in population.
Furthermore, the removal of green space will also exacerbate the existing problems with flooding in this area. I am aware of existing problems with Chorley New Road becoming flooded during rainfall, therefore building on a large body of local green space will further increase flood risk.
As this development will negatively impact all of the above, I cannot support these plans.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Green MP"