I MUST disagree with Cllr Mckeon's recent letter which he advised "Horwich gets a good deal by being a part of the Bolton family," if that was true Horwich First would not exist!

Given Horwich's significant increase in population once the the Loco Works housing development (and others) passed by Bolton begins, the negative impact on our town's infrastructure necessitates investment such as at the Brazley Centre, as a minimum. It is essential to at least maintain the remaining infrastructure we have in this part of the borough and indeed expand, particularly when we are losing community spaces such as those at the leisure centre.

With regards to the new leisure centre, it is neither "bigger" nor "better" than the current one built by Horwich UDC as promised, with squash being excluded entirely, community function rooms lost, with a significantly smaller sports hall and therefore reduced capacity for other remaining sports, with a much larger population. This development was shoehorned onto an inappropriate site, against the wishes of many in Horwich, without any consultation. The views of Horwich residents were simply not considered by Bolton.

The new exciting health centre can be attributed to the hard work of our local GPs and their own successful £6.8m bid to NHS England (the second largest award in the country), which itself can be attributed to the significant increased demand on local services which will arise from the new developments. Bolton Council only demanded £360,000 in section 106 monies for health to mitigate the impact of the Loco Works development, a huge deficit. The award from NHS England highlights Bolton's failure to plan for these new residents in Horwich.

Horwich was promised a state of the art health centre years ago by Bolton, it has taken our GPs to deliver it. As a long time supporter of improved sporting facilities in Horwich, a new 3g football pitch at Station Park will be a fantastic addition and it is of course welcomed. But, given the state of the current astroturf, the loss of the College Field for housing, the loss of yet another football pitch at Chorley New Road, with play reduced on the remaining pitches, this new facility is now nothing less than essential. Not one penny of section 106 developer contributions for sport was even requested by Bolton Council from the Loco Works development for improvements in Horwich, despite Sport England calculating £1.47million being needed. In addition, the promised new school on the Loco Works has been downgraded to a rebuild and then expansion of existing schools. Added to this, overdevelopment in Horwich will only increase further once the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework takes effect...Horwich needs a fairer deal.

Kevin says the evidence is clear, well I welcome the debate on the future of Horwich. If it is so clear, trust the public and ask the people of Horwich what they really think in a parish poll.

Steven Chadwick

Member of Horwich First