THE Bolton News provided artist’s impressions of a golf course, club house and hotel proposed for Over Hulton, stating that the Ryder Cup requires the venue to hold 70,000 visitors at a time. The event normally lasts for three days.

Westhoughton's population is around 25,000. Many are commuters principally to the M61 and Manchester. The effect of this event would therefore be to bring an extra three times the population into the area for these few days. The hotel would appear to hold a few hundred at most, therefore the developers – Peel Land and Property – need to explain where these 70,000 people are going to stay and how they will be transported to the event. The nearest two stations are two km away, and even the new larger trains we are promised will not scratch the surface of this number of passengers. If buses are used it will require 900 double-deckers. Otherwise they will be travelling in at least 17,000 cars. How is this remotely credible?

The Bolton News reports that 2/3 of its readers don’t play golf, the demand for another golf course from the local population does not seem to be all that strong, so let us think about the other aspect of the development – Peel’s 1000 new houses. The Council cannot consider the Peel proposal in isolation because there is also the Lee Hall proposal for 300 houses from Persimmon Homes in discussion, and this occupies the land immediately adjacent to Chequerbent roundabout.

The traffic from these two developments can be brought towards the M61 in three places – at Chequerbent roundabout which will be chaotic. Five roads would feed into this already congested spot.

There is a further possibility. As you approach Chequerbent from the M61, the central reservation becomes very wide. This was originally to provide for an underpass, so that traffic from Atherleigh Way (and the new Westhoughton bypass) would go under the roundabout and straight to the motorway. This would relieve much of the pressure on the roundabout.

The issue affecting the two housing proposals is that the south end of this underpass is in the middle of the Lee Hall proposal, so that would not be able to go ahead in the form proposed in 2015/16. The route selected for the underpass will have to fit in with both the Peel and Persimmon developments together. If either one of the housing developments is given the go-ahead without taking this route into account, it will prevent any future opportunity to build a road which can do anything about the congestion. That is why it is so important that the Peel proposal is not rushed through without proper consideration of the transport needs of the barely-credible golf course and in particular the housing development.

Yours sincerely

Phil Wood

Westhoughton