Homes on the former Wigan Greenbelt are to be approved

They were submitted after Mosley Common was stripped of its green belt designation in the Greater Manchester Strategic Planning document.

Approval of the scheme will be conditional on contributions of almost £800,000 from the developer towards areas such as school places and transport.

In line with Wigan council’s planning policy, 25 of the homes will meet the ‘affordable’ designation.

Opponents of the scheme claim there are “more than enough houses” in the area and none of the proposed ones are “genuinely affordable.

There is no social housing on offer, which opponents say is “what is needed”.

They also say that the infrastructure in the area cannot cope with the current population and there are not enough medical offices.

However, a report to the committee says that within two miles of the site, there are 19 GP facilities, all of which are accepting new patients.

The report concludes that the development is “considered acceptable when balanced against the identified housing need that the scheme will help to meet”.