Supermarket money 'should stay in Westhoughton'

8:33am Friday 9th May 2008

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THE new mayor of Westhoughton says a supermarket's controversial £1 million payment to lift a land covenant should be spent on improving the area.

Cllr David Chadwick, who will be sworn in as mayor on Monday, is calling for the money Sainsbury's paid Bolton Council to lift the covenant protecting land at Westhoughton Cricket Club to be ring-fenced for the town.

Bolton Council's planning committee gave the supermarket giant permission to build a £7.5 million store on the site of the cricket club in Cricketers Way in January.

The committee also gave permission for a new cricket club to be built on land at The Hoskers, Daisy Hill, which must be up and running before work starts on the new store. The Bolton News revealed on Monday that the council had accepted £1 million from the supermarket giant to lift a covenant saying the club land should be protected for recreational use and switch it to the new site. However, the money would be spent on projects across the borough.

Cllr Chadwick, who is leader of Westhoughton Town Council and represents Westhoughton South for Labour on Bolton Council, said: "I have had numerous phone calls from local residents who are up in arms about this.

"I don't believe the covenant should have been lifted in the first place but now we are being told the money raised from it will be spent across the entire borough.

"The money should only be spent within Westhoughton. I'm very unhappy that the money is going to spent elsewhere."

He called on his fellow Westhoughton borough councillors to support him in trying to persuade the council to re-consider its position.

LibDem ward colleague David Wilkinson said: "I'm very happy to support Cllr Chadwick in trying to get the £1 million spent in Westhoughton but it is a policy of the majority Labour group.

"However, there would be pitfalls if the policy was changed because Westhoughton has benefited from funds raised from other parts of the borough in previous years."

He added that after negotiations with councillors, the supermarket had agreed to hand over £140,000 to be invested in facilities in Westhoughton. This was a condition of planning approval.

Conservative councillor for Westhoughton North and Chew Moor, Pat Allen, said this was a symptom of a much wider problem for Westhoughton.

She said: "The town has seen so much building in recent years and the council has received a lot of money from that but very little of it is going back into Westhoughton itself."