en.Wedoany.com Reported - UK property developer Peel Land has adjusted its development plan for Gibfield Park in Greater Manchester, reducing employment space from the originally planned approximately 490,000 sq ft to 375,000 sq ft, while maintaining the proposed number of homes at 500 (with 170 in the first phase).
The adjustment is based on feedback received during the first round of public consultation earlier this year. Peel has also revised the plan to provide greater future flexibility, with some employment space potentially converted into additional homes and a local centre in subsequent planning applications. The site layout has been updated accordingly, with all new buildings set back at least 65 metres from existing homes along Schofield Lane and Wigan Road, separated by a 5-acre-wide green corridor. This layout change responds to local community concerns about the proximity of industrial units to residential properties, following controversy over a similar issue at Astley Park, another non-Peel industrial project in the Wigan area.
The Gibfield Park site covers a total of 173 acres, with the majority designated as a 71-acre country park, retaining its green space status. The site has been included in Greater Manchester's "Places for Everyone" joint spatial plan, located within the NorthFold growth corridor spanning Wigan and Bolton. The corridor as a whole can accommodate 9,000 homes and over 3 million sq ft of industrial space.
A spokesperson for Peel Land stated that feedback from the local community prompted the project team to make several adjustments, including reducing warehouse space, setting clearer limits on the development area and future building heights, and establishing a green corridor. The company has also initiated the planning consultation for the first phase of Gibfield Meadows and looks forward to continuing to gather community input.
Turley Consulting, NJL Consulting, and Lucid Consulting are providing advisory services for the project. Last year, Peel also unveiled plans for another development within the NorthFold corridor, the 240-acre Lee Hall project, involving 1,400 homes and 270,000 sq ft of employment space.
