Sainsbury's pay £1m for Westhoughton land covenant (From The Bolton News)

Sainsbury's pay £1m for Westhoughton land covenant

12:10pm Monday 5th May 2008 in

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SUPERMARKET chiefs have paid £1 million to Bolton Council so a covenant placed on land earmarked for a controversial new store can be lifted.

Sainsbury's plan to build a £7.5 million store on the site of Westhoughton Cricket Club in Cricketers Way.

In January, Bolton Council gave permission for the company to build on the site after its planning committee voted 14-7 in favour of the 25,000 sq ft supermarket.

The committee also gave permission for a new cricket club to be built on land at The Hoskers, Daisy Hill.

It must be up and running before work starts on the new store.

Sainsbury's chiefs hit a stumbling block, however, when it emerged the land on which they had permission to build the store was protected by a covenant which said it must be used only for recreational purposes.

That meant they had to negotiate a sum for it to be lifted with Bolton Council.

An agreement has now been reached which will see the company pay £1 million to the town hall and the covenant shifted to the new site of the cricket club.

The £1 million will go into the council's "capital receipts pot" and be invested in projects across the borough.

A council spokesman said: "This is a positive development for Westhoughton. It means there will be additional resources to spend on capital projects within the borough. There will be significant improvements for the cricket club and the junior rugby league club which will benefit from improved facilities."

"It was also agreed that a covenant will be placed on the new club, to protect it from future development."

A spokesman for the supermarket said: "Sainsbury's remains committed to investing in Westhoughton and believes that the new food store will bring many benefits to the area. A new store will help entice shoppers back into Westhoughton and will provide a boost for the town's economy, encouraging other businesses to relocate to the area."

Sainsbury's announced in March that it was hoping to start work on the site in April next year and for it to be open in autumn, 2009.

However, last month great crested newts were found on the land which may delay building work, as they are a protected speciies.