Residents have voiced their concerns over a planned canalside housing estate, saying “Little Lever can’t take it.”

Residents around Mytham Road and Cedar Avenue say they are unhappy with developer Watson’s plans to build 297 one, two, three, and four-bedroom houses and apartments across three locations.

The plans include building 178 properties at the Cream Mill site at the end of Mytham Road, a mixture of greenbelt and brownfield land, with another 96 at Hall Lane.

Residents are afraid that plans are being pushed through without proper scrutiny due to the coronavirus pandemic and that their concerns are not being properly heard.

Kath Harris and Simon Johnson, both residents of Cedar Avenue, are pulling together residents from surrounding roads in opposition to the plans.

Kath, who keeps horses on the field where the developer wants to build a section of the houses, is concerned at the loss of green space and wildlife the estate would cause.

She said: “I had to jump through hoops to try and get an extension on my house next to the field, but it seems this is going through with ease.

“Just walking along the other day I saw deer across the field. It’s a key bit of green space that will be completely destroyed by these houses.”

Simon echoed these views and added: “It’s a bottleneck coming down Mytham Road which can hardly fit a bus down it.

“Little Lever can’t take it, the amount of cars this will bring is just worrying.

"It just doesn’t seem like a very clever place to try and build."

And Little Lever ward councillor Sean Hornby also said: “They are using traffic surveys from over two years ago so are not taking into account the traffic problems the residents have now.

“I would encourage residents with concerns to get in touch with myself or contact the planning department up until the committee meeting in February to decide this.”

Rob Watson, director at Watson Homes, said: “Part of the Creams Mill site is brownfield and is designated for housing in Bolton Council’s Local Plan.

"Development on areas of green belt which also form part of this site meets the council’s “very special circumstances” that are required to justify the plans and enable the repair works to the canal, which is a long-held aspiration.

“Working with our planning consultant, P4 Planning, and environmental consultants, we have carried out a full suite of ecological and habitat surveys as part of the planning application to ensure that there will be no harm to wildlife or habitats."