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5 Market Street Leigh WN7 1ED

A/25/099696/FULLFull DetailsRefused
Full

Refused on 22 May 2026

3 reasons for refusal

Site boundary (council red line)

Proposal

Change of use of ground floor to part retail unit (Use Class E) and part 4 person, 4 bedroom house in multiple occupation (Use Class C4), change of use of first floor to a 5 person, 5 bedroom house in multiple occupation (Use Class C4) and creation of 2 self-contained flats (Use Class C3) over second and third floors together with additional window openings, alterations to existing window and door openings and replacement of all windows and doors

Received
17 September 2025
Public comments
3
Ward
Leigh Central And Higher Folds
  1. Received17 Sep
  2. Validated21 Nov
  3. Consult.23 Dec
  4. Target20 Apr
  5. Decided22 May

Decided in 182 days (council typically 63)

About this application

This is a full planning application for a change of use at 5 Market Street Leigh WN7 1ED. Wigan has handled 392 applications of this type. This one was decided in 247 days, 26 weeks longer than Wigan's typical decision time. The site is in the Leigh Town Centre conservation area, with 4 listed buildings nearby. There are no previous applications recorded at this address. In the past year there have been 35 applications across Leigh Central And Higher Folds. We hold 221 applications in total for the WN7 postcode area.

85% of full applications at Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council were approved. Across all application types, the council typically decides in about 9 weeks (median).

Based on decided applications received in the last 3 years.Planning something similar? See what gets approved on your street

Why it was refused

  1. Having regard to the established character of the town centre, and the number of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) already present within the locality, the two proposed Houses in Multiple Occupation would add to an existing concentration of such uses, and in excess of the concentration threshold set out in the Houses in Multiple Occupation Supplementary Planning Document. This additional intensification would contribute towards unbalancing the local housing mix, eroding the areas established character, and would undermine the ability to maintain a mixed and balanced community. As a result, the development would cause unacceptable harm to local character and the amenity of the town centre and neighbouring uses. The development is therefore contrary to Wigan Local Plan Core Strategy Policies CP6, CP10 and CP17, Places for Everyone Joint Development Plan Policies JP -P1 and JP -S1, and Saved, the Council's Houses in Multiple Occupation Supplementary Planning Document, and the design and place -making principles of the National Planning Policy Framework.
  2. The proposed layout and design would not provide for adequate levels of amenity and quality of life for all prospective future residents of the development, due to the relationship between proposed ground floor bedrooms and the adjacent public car park, contrary to Wigan Local Plan Policies CP10 and CP17, Places for Everyone Policy JP -P1, and the National Planning Policy Framework.
  3. The proposed layout and design would not provide for adequate levels of amenity and quality of life for all prospective future residents of the development, as a proposed flat within the development fails to meet the minimum floorspace requirements set out in the Nationally Described Space Standards, and is therefore contrary to Places for Everyone Policy JP -H3 and Wigan Local Plan Policy CP17 Statement under Article 3 5 (2) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
WN7 1ED
Application type
Full Details
Scale / size
Small
Parish
Leigh Township

Planning application dates

Date validated
21 November 2025
Consultation expiry
2 January 2026
Consultation start
2 December 2025
Consultation end
23 December 2025
Neighbour consultation start
1 December 2025
Neighbour consultation end
25 December 2025
Last date for comments
2 January 2026
Target decision date
20 April 2026

Applicant and agent

Agent address
Ms Soma Hadad 185 Dartmouth Rd London SE26 4RQ

Planning decision

Statutory period
56 days

Publicity

Last advertised
11 December 2025
Advertisement expiry
25 December 2025
Site notice start
12 December 2025
Site notice end
2 January 2026

Additional information

Planning Portal ID
PP-14307775
Documents
0
Constraints
3

Site constraints

Checking the site
2/3
Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations that overlap or adjoin the site outline.

  • Conservation area: Leigh Town Centre
  • Brownfield land register: Shlaa0369Register site at or near this address
  • Flood zone 1: Low probability (rivers and sea)

Not published by this council, so not checked: Article 4 directions and tree preservation orders. Ask the council if these matter.

Also checked, none recorded (20)

flood storage areas, listed buildings, green belt, scheduled monuments, World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site buffer zones, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, Heritage at Risk entries, nutrient neutrality catchments, national parks, National Landscapes, SSSIs, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, ancient woodland, national nature reserves, local nature reserves and heritage coasts.

A guide only, from official open data; it is not a planning search. Flood zones cover rivers and sea, not surface water.

Data © Crown copyright and others · sources and licences

Contains public sector information from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG and local planning authorities), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on 2026-11-03. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.

© Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved. Flood Map for Planning, Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Wigan

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