A LIDL store

LIDL will be opening Thursday, 3rd December, we can reveal.

The national chain will open their first Westhoughton store at the Wigan Road / Cricketers Way junction, off The Fairways.

It is being closely followed by Sainsburys, who will be opening in February 2010.

Sainsburys... set to open in February 2010

A recent recruitment drive saw scores of people trying to get work with the company, with many families hit by the recession, leaving many out of work.

One Church Street resident told The Bolton News: “I am very keen to get back to work. I’ve been trying everything but it’s really difficult at the moment.”

Another Sandalwood resident added: “There’s not many jobs going at the moment so I thought this was a really good opportunity. I’ve always supported the idea of Sainsbury’s coming to the town.”

The store is set to open next February – but will be beaten by LIDL, who plan to open their Wigan Road store in December, before the Christmas rush.

The LIDL store was supported by 433 local residents, who signed a petition in favour of the plans.

Westhoughton South ward councillor Julia Silvester said: “I am very pleased to see that Sainsburys is taken a positive role in getting local people back into work. Whether you agreed with the plans or not, it is here to stay and this recruitment drive is good news for Westhoughton.”

Westhoughton North ward campaigner Derek Gradwell added: “The opening of these two new stores will undoubtedly attract people back into the town, giving Westhoughton the attention it deserves.”

The LIDL site

Here you can see the progress being made quickly on the site of the new LIDL supermarket. It is to open at the end of the year on the site of the former Greenfields Private Members Club at the junction of Wigan Road and Cricketers Way.

LIDL site

Supermarket chains LIDL and Sainsburys have begun work on their respective new sites in Westhoughton.

LIDL, situated at the junction of Wigan Road and Cricketers Way, on the old Greenfields Private Members Club site, started first.

They are now quickly being followed by construction work on the Sainsburys site, off Cricketers Way, opposite the McDonalds fast-food restaurant.

Here, we show some of the latest pictures from the construction sites.

LIDL is expecting to open its doors before the end of the year, and Sainsburys plan a February 2010 opening.

Two locations for new shops have emerged in Westhoughton as LIDL press ahead with their plans for a new supermarket.

Residents will already know that LIDL plan to build a new supermarket on the site of the former Greenfields Private Members Club, off Wigan Road (pictured right).

But now two new sites have emerged as possible retail developments – one being the old Gaiety building on Market Street, and the other being the old Glebe Mill and Bolton Road car park behind the library.

It is understood ALDI are interested in the former site. The car park would be moved to the site of the Walter Forshaw yard off King Street, and pedestrian access would be provided to King Street and Library Street.

Councillor Julia Silvester and Parliamentary Candidate Jackie Pearcey look at the Glebe Mill site

The owner of the Gaiety site wants LIDL to move its plans to there, but we understand LIDL don’t agree since they have already bought the land off Wigan Road.

When the Liberal Democrats asked residents what they wanted, most were in favour of LIDL coming to Westhoughton, but over 50 residents were against the idea. But most agree that the town needs more choice.

With the emergence of these potential new sites for retail development, your Liberal Democrat councillors are calling for a public consultation and proper planning before rushing into decisions about each site.

That’s why we encouraged EVERYONE WHO READS THIS to post their comments at the bottom of this article, or you can e-mail privately to focus@westhoughton-libdems.org.uk.

The application, which has been received by Bolton Council, is for the site of the former Greenfields Private Members’ Club off the Wigan Road/Cricketers Way junction.

The planning application number is 81747/09 if residents wish to submit their views to the council. You can have your views included through the council’s website at www.bolton.gov.uk.

The national chain want a new store on the site of the former Greenfields Private Members Club, at the Cricketer’s Way/Wigan Road junction.

The consultation will be held on Monday, 16th February between 1pm and 6.30pm at the Carnegie Hall, above Westhoughton Library, on Market Street. Lidl are writing to more than a 1,000 local residents to invite them along.

Westhoughton Liberal Democrats are also writing to residents across the town to find out whether they are in favour of the plans or not. You can also post your feedback below this article.

The former club, located at the junction of Wigan Road and Cricketers Way, was going to be demolished to make way for new apartments.

But the plans fell through and LIDL want to open a new store after buying the site. They hope to submit a planning application in February but will first open the idea up to public consultation and launch an open day.

The town is growing in size and still only has two Co-op supermarkets to cater for its population.

Labour councillors have consistently hampered the public’s choice of shopping facilities in Westhoughton. They said NO to plans for a Tesco on Manchester Road, yet only days after the store opened two Labour councillors were spotted in the store.

They opposed plans for the new Sainsbury’s store on Cricketers Way, potentially denying brand new facilities for our local cricket and rugby clubs, as well as losing money for Market Street footpath improvements.

They also:
- Cut the town’s market hall in HALF
- Opposed plans for a new clothing store
- Opposed plans for a new restaurant to replace a betting shop
- Said YES to 3 new estate agents, but only one was established because of the collapse in the housing market.

We’d like to know what you think about the plans for a LIDL store – will this be a good idea for Westhoughton? Post a comment on this news item or e-mail your views to focus@westhoughton-libdems.org.uk.