MORE than 100 residents gathered at a meeting last night, Thursday, to air their concerns about a new metal scrapyard development which is set to be built in Atherton.

Bolton West MP Chris Green and Atherton councillor Karen Aldred chaired the hour-long meeting at Botanical Gardens Association on Tyldesley Road from 7pm with people raising a number of issues surrounding Maxilead Limited's new base north of Chanters Industrial Estate.

Many people in the room said they only heard about the development, which was approved by Wigan Council's planning committee in January, when trees were knocked down at the site around a week ago with only one person present saying they had received a consultation letter about it.

Both Mr Green and Cllr Aldred made it clear they were not well-informed about the various issues surrounding the development and were there to collect the queries from residents to ask for answers from Wigan Council.

There was plenty of anger vented on the night with people expressing their fears about the amount of wagons that will drive in and out of the new centre adding to the weight of traffic in the area and questioning whether some roads in the area are wide enough to support them.

A number of residents on Douglas Road said the felling of the trees has exposed their houses to the existing waste recycling site, which is lit 24 hours a day, with one saying "it is like living near Manchester Airport at the moment".

Another bone of contention was the level of noise at the facility with the opening hours being confirmed by Cllr Aldred as 6.30am to 5pm Mondays to Fridays and 6.30am to noon on Saturdays.

A sound test has been carried out at the site but many feel the noise will be unbearable and contribute to the valuation of their homes dropping.

Wildlife concerns were raised too with a neighbour stating she seen a fox in her garden for the first time in the 37 years she has lived their which brought into question whether the upheaval of animals was considered sufficiently in the move.

Doubts were cast about recent business press coverage of Maxilead Limited with its sister company, Maxilead Metals Limited, going into administration on Monday according to a Companies House spokesman.

Residents asked Mr Green and Cllr Aldred to check if the company is in a fit financial state to continue work at the site.

Speaking after the meeting, Chris Green, added: "The amount of people coming here tonight shows that there are really serious concerns about the development and I will be looking for answers as quickly as possible."

The development is currently being considered by the Secretary of State.