The derelict pub will be replaced by 22 affordable apartments

A plan to bulldoze and abandon the pub to build 22 affordable flats has been recommended for approval by Wigan’s planning officers. The scheme will be considered at the district’s planning committee meeting on Tuesday (June 11).

Jigsaw Homes North and Watston Construction Ltd have submitted plans to demolish the Pit Pony Inn on Low Bank Road in Ashton-in-Makerfield. The pub is vacant from 2022.

They want to build 19 one-bed flats and three two-bed dwellings, to be developed in a single block, partly three-storey, partly two-storey, following the demolition of the existing properties. The development will be served by revised vehicular and pedestrian access from Low Bank Road, and there would be off-road parking and landscaping.

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There have been 36 objections to the scheme submitted to planners and councilors Scarlett Myler and Steve Jones are also against the proposal. A report to the committee said: “Both councilors raised issues with the design of the building and its appearance in the surrounding area, stating that the height of the building will infringe on the privacy of neighbours.”

They say Low Bank Road is already a busy road and with “up to 22 extra cars pulling in and out of the development, road safety is a concern as well as a further boost when the (nearby) rugby club is in use “. Other objectors say the scale of the development is likely to create “a physical frenzy” in the area.

“The development will cause problems with views of surrounding properties and result in a loss of light,” says one. “The proposed parking provision is inadequate for the number of apartments proposed,” says another.

However, officers recommended that planning permission be granted, subject to a number of conditions.