Wingates Employment Site
General
What is the Wingates development?
Wingates is a strategic employment hub in Westhoughton, Bolton which could create up to 6,000 new jobs over the next 10-15 years. The site is located to the south of the A6 Chorley Road and to the west of the Wingates Industrial Estate, close to Junction 6 of the M61.
The site already has planning consent for 1.1 million sq ft of logistics and manufacturing space, with work due to start later this year to deliver the first phase of up to 1,500 new jobs. It is also identified under the recently adopted Places for Everyone – Greater Manchester Spatial Plan – as a location to deliver a further 3.6 million sq ft of employment space.
When will construction start?
Before we start construction of the employment buildings, we are creating an ecological enhancement area to provide new habitats for wildlife. You can find out more about construction activities on site here .
Before construction begins on the employment buildings a series of Reserved Matters planning applications will be submitted to Bolton Council. You can find out more about any current Reserved Matters applications here .
In 2023 our plans to realign a short stretch of the A6 Chorley Road to provide a new,
improved and dedicated access to the Wingates employment site were approved. You can find out more about existing and future planning applications for the site here.
What transport improvements will take place?
The plans for Phase 1 of the Wingates development include upgrades to highways and associated infrastructure, with improvements to the following:
The plans will also see highways improvement works already committed by other developments to the A6 Chorley Road/De Haviland Way roundabout and M61 Junction 6 brought forward. Over £300,000 will be contributed to enhance the local bus service for a six-year period.
The plans to realign the A6 Chorley Road will also optimise traffic flow by coordination of traffic signals between junctions, which will benefit local residents, businesses and road users. The proposed access arrangement and enhancements to Wimberry Hill Road and Chorley Road will also significantly improve provision for pedestrians and cyclists. This includes new crossing points as part of the new junction.
What happens next now that Places for Everyone has been adopted?
Following the adoption of the Places for Everyone – Greater Manchester Spatial Plan – Harworth plans to develop a comprehensive masterplan for the wider Wingates site. As part of this we will be engaging with local residents and stakeholders later in 2024. Further information will be posted on this website when available.
What will the ecology works involve?
Before we start construction of the employment buildings we are creating new habitats to benefit a range of wildlife including birds, amphibians and small mammals. This will include ten new wildlife ponds, wildflower grassland, native tree planting and bat boxes.
A6 road improvements
What are the plans to alter the A6 Chorley Road?
In 2023, Harworth secured consent to realign a stretch of the A6 Chorley Road in front of the nearby Blue Bell Cottages. The plans involve creating a new, improved and dedicated access to the Wingates employment site, rather than using an access from Wimberry Hill Road, as originally planned.
The new access leaves Wimberry Hill Road and its Chorley Road junction unaltered to continue to serve the Wingates Industrial Estate. The proposed new road alignment also offers significant benefits for local residents including increasing the distance between residential properties and the road by 40m, creating a new landscaped buffer and moving traffic away from the houses. It is anticipated that the road improvement works will commence in the autumn.
The plans to realign the A6 Chorley Road will optimise traffic flow by coordination of traffic signals between junctions, which will benefit local residents, businesses and road users. The proposed access arrangement and enhancements to Wimberry Hill Road and Chorley Road will also significantly improve provision for pedestrians and cyclists. This includes new crossing points as part of the new junction.
Who will be responsible for maintaining the new cul-de-sac?
It is anticipated that the new cul-de-sac will remain a public highway and therefore maintained by Bolton Council.
What are the benefits of the plans?
A new, improved and dedicated access to the Wingates employment scheme, rather than using an access from Wimberry Hill Road, as originally planned. The new access leaves the Wimberry Hill Road/Chorley Road junction unaltered to continue to serve the Wingates Industrial Estate
The realignment of the A6 Chorley Road to the south, will move traffic away from Blue Bell Cottages, increasing the distance between houses and the road by up to 40m.
It will provide a new landscaped buffer in front of Blue Bell Cottages, which will screen the road and provide a green, planted area for residents to enjoy.
The plans will include a new signalised junction with comprehensive pedestrian and cycle crossing facilities, new and improved cycle lanes and pavements.
The existing road will be narrowed and retained to provide access to the Blue Bell Cottages creating a new cul-de-sac which is shut off to through traffic, improving safety for residents and access for deliveries.
The plans will optimise the traffic flow on the A6 Chorley Road by coordination of traffic signals between junctions, which will benefit local residents, businesses and road users.
How will the new junction improve traffic flows compared to the original approved plans?
Traffic generation from the approved development will not change as a result of the new junction and realigned road. The new junction has been designed with capacity to operate efficiently, minimise queuing and facilitate passage of through traffic. The proposed new site access junction has been designed to work with the existing Wimberry Hill Road signalised junction (which provides access to the Wingates Industrial Estate) to limit delay on the A6. This will be an improvement on the previously approved plans to access the Wingates employment site via Wimberry Road.
The provision of two coordinated accesses to serve the proposed development and the existing Wingates Industrial Park, rather than the previously proposed single access from Wimberry Hill Road, allows for double the number of vehicles to enter/exit the sites in the same amount of time. This capacity improvement therefore allows more time to be reallocated back to the A6 approaches which reduces delays along the entire corridor. Sufficient space has been provided between the two junctions to accommodate the expected future levels of traffic during each signal cycle and this has been demonstrated through detailed junction modelling by our professional team and by consultants working on behalf of Bolton Council. There are a number of off-site highway improvements planned as part of the wider Wingates employment scheme which will provide substantial benefits to the existing network as well as accommodating traffic generation from the development.
Will parking be allowed outside of the front of properties on the new cul-de-sac?
We understand that there is a desire from some residents for parking to be allowed at the front of properties on the proposed new cul-de-sac, whilst others have expressed concerns about any effect of such parking on access and amenity. We will give consideration to an arrangement that will accommodate parking in a suitable manner. As it is public highway, the detail of parking locations or potential parking regulations will be agreed with Bolton Council following submission of the application.
What pedestrian and cycle access is proposed?
A thorough review has been undertaken of whether it is possible to accommodate an additional crossing near to the ATS Garage. This review has concluded that it is not feasible due to the location of existing accesses and bus stops. The realignment of the A6 does include a new pedestrian refuge crossing point around 170m to the east of the ATS entrance which provides an improvement against the previous planning application. The internal pedestrian/cycle connections and the impact on Public Rights of Ways (PRoWs) across the wider Wingates employment site will be covered within a future detailed planning application. Where feasible the PRoWs will be maintained or enhanced and where it is necessary for a PRoW to be diverted, this will be agreed with all interested parties.
Will the road realignment impact on views from adjacent properties?
As with the original consented planning application the amended scheme will alter existing views in the locality. We have undertaken an updated landscape and visual assessment which has been submitted with the planning application. The effect on the views from the nearest houses along the existing A6 Chorley Road has been carefully considered in putting the changes to the proposed scheme together, so that in the future traffic using the A6 Chorley Road will be further away from these properties. As with the original scheme the heights of buildings along the A6 Chorley Road have been limited and the scheme also maximises the retention of existing hedgerows and trees, as well as incorporating mounding and new hedgerow and tree/woodland planting to aid the screening of built development in the long-term. The proposed road realignment will see less trees lost overall across the whole site compared to the consented plans.
What planting is proposed?
The scheme maximises the retention of existing hedgerows and trees, as well as new hedgerow and tree/woodland planting. The proposed road realignment will see less trees lost overall across the whole site compared to the consented plans. In response to comments received during the consultation we have included a native and wildlife-friendly bulb mix to be planted within the grass verge on the south side of the re-aligned A6. This will add to the seasonal interest of the planting scheme for the A6 re-alignment, as well as providing additional nectar sources for wildlife.
When is construction expected to start?
It is anticipated that the road improvement works will commence in autumn 2024.
What will be the impacts during construction?
The existing A6 Chorley Road will remain open while the new road is being built.
All work will be undertaken in line with a Construction Environmental Management Plan which will be agreed with Bolton Council.
Transform Regenerate Revitalise