CONSTRUCTION of 50 new homes at the site of Bolton’s last greyhound stadium is finally underway.

The Weavers Way development in Westhoughton was once a greyhound track and is now the site of preparations ahead of builders moving in.

The project was created by Sparkle Developments, the Westhoughton-based group also responsible for the Grundy Fold Farm development in Horwich.

The buildings, off Wigan Road, were demolished in 2014 to make way for 38 approved houses. In 2015, the applicant returned to the council with proposals to build 50 homes in total. The revised scheme was given the go-ahead at the time, but formal agreements were only signed in May of last year. The redevelopment plans include 30 detached houses, 12 semi-detached properties and eight terraced houses.

Following extensive negotiations, Sparkle has agreed to pay £68,000 for the off-site provision of affordable housing, £10,000 towards improvements at Washacre Primary School, £25,000 for highways improvements, £10,000 to improve the play area in Hewlett Street, £2,000 for public art, and £19,000 for health facilities.

Sparkle Developments has passed the construction to Seddon Homes, currently carrying out initial soil testing.

A spokesman for Sparkle Developments said: “We’re doing all of the preliminaries.

“Bringing cabins and toilets and making sure that the site is secure.”

The spokesman added that the wait is not over yet, with work on the homes themselves expected to start around Easter.

He said: “You won’t see see any bricks laid for months.”

Councillor David Wilkinson said that although Westhoughton is struggling under the weight of multiple housing plans, including the controversial Bowlands Hey, the brownfield development is not the worst the town has faced.

He said: “As much as I’m concerned about traffic problems, it’s greenfield versus brownfield — brownfield wins every time. There was no way you could say no to that one.

“Our main fight has to be saving as much green space as possible.”

According to Sparkle Developments, the next steps will be buildings roads at the site and completing drainage.