The cycle of failure repeats

Local family business despairs as standstill traffic leads to decreased footfall. Is the installation of a controversial bike lane, by Wigan Council, to blame?

Leigh’s beloved DIY shop, Browns of Leigh, has been a fixture in the town for over 60 years. Through thick and thin, the store has flourished, but is now facing a reduction in footfall as traf ic grinds to a halt through the town. The installation of a bicycle lane has mandated the half-closure of the main arterial road out of the town centre, resulting in standstill traf ic. Sam discusses the issues faced by the business and shares her views on the town.

Frustration and confusion abounded as word spread around the middle of September 2024. For many, the news was first heard through local community facebook groups, for others, awareness came as they were caught up in nightmarish attempts to drive out of Leigh at rush hour. Several reported that an ordinary shopping trip at Tesco resulted in an hour-long queue just to drive off the car park. Work had begun - the southbound side of St Helens Road, leading out of Leigh, had closed to install a new cycle lane.

Traffic around Leigh is infamous for being clogged, with a minority of large connecting roads apart from the Atherleigh Way bypass (which is only connected to another major road at one end). Commuters are used to long queues at rush hour to get to and from work, such as those frequently seen around the junction of Twist Lane and Atherleigh Way, or where Kenyon Lane, Winwick Lane, and the East Lancs meet at Lane Head.

The decision to undertake major works with a one-way road closure on one of the main routes into town was therefore received with overwhelmingly negative reception from residents when posts began to pop up on the local groups. Some residents found it especially offensive when all the significant disruption is for just a short section of new cycle lane stretching from Bonnywell Road to the bridge. Many criticised the venture, citing the small minority of cyclists in the area, concerns about already over-subscribed road use, and the use of council funding on such a project.

Figure 1 - Road closure map

The impact isn’t just being felt by local residents - several business owners have noted the decrease in shoppers and the follow-on effect on sales. Browns of Leigh is an independently owned small business in the heart of Leigh specialising in DIY equipment and hardware, who have reported a drop in customer footfall in the time since the bike lane works began. The shop first opened its doors in 1961, and marked its 63rd birthday in June 2024. Graduating from their initial furniture beginnings into a wider range of home improvement supplies and carpentry works, the shop has seen its share of Leigh history over its long tenure. Reporting a first-week take of £63 back in 1961 (£1,200 today), the business quickly became profitable by earning the trust of consumers through providing a more personalised service compared to the larger suppliers. Initially situated at 13, Leigh Road, the rapid expansion of the business required that they jump a short distance over to numbers 17 and 19, before then merging those two with 21 and 23 to almost take up the full block.

The shop is still owned by Cyril Brown who first launched the business over 60 years ago, but is also operated by his daughter, Sam Johnson Brown, who helps with the day-to-day running. Sam has reported a marked decrease in customers attending the shop since the traffic situation worsened due to the bridge partial closure, and is considering altering the shop opening hours in response.

“Unfortunately we may have to look at reducing shop hours to save some money - when it gets to 3pm the shop is just dead. Since they shut Leigh bridge on St Helens rd the traffic is so bad and just backs up down Leigh road. Or people just by pass us all together. It’s been a disaster for us. All for a bike lane that no one even wanted. Makes me very frustrated.”

The alteration of shop opening hours is a measure floated by Sam in response to the gridlock that occurs at rush hour on Leigh Road and surrounding streets in recent times, as a consequence of the partial closure of St Helens Road out of the town. Sam thinks that this congestion inhibits business traffic from approaching the store. Being a DIY/hardware shop, most customers of Browns of Leigh arrive via car or van, so access and parking are essential.

Figure 2 - Browns of Leigh

Sam’s last point regarding the demand for the new bike lane references the negative reception to the development on social media, but also to the public consultation conducted by Wigan Borough Council. Surprise was the first response felt by many Leythers when the work began. For most, it was the first they’d heard of the project. It soon transpired that a public consultation had been conducted, as all projects require.

The St Helens Road, Leigh, Walking & Cycling Scheme [1] undertook a consultation from 13th February 2023 - 12th March 2023. Alongside press releases, social media posts, and Wigan Council webpages, a leaflet drop was conducted to the residents and businesses judged to be in the sphere of influence of the development. This sphere of influence consisted of 372 properties, and 49 businesses along St Helens Road. All received a leaflet inviting them to partake in the consultation and received an invitation to the in-person event at a nearby church. Of these affected parties, only 22 responses were received. Of these 22 responses, 44% positive, 32% neutral, and 24% negative views were shared (N.B. it’s unclear how these percentages add up to the 22 total). In addition, the in-person event at the church was attended by 12 people (inclusive of attending councillors).

Figure 3 - Sam Johnson Brown

In light of the figures associated with the consultation, it’s difficult not to have some sympathy for Sam’s plight. While it’s not technically true that “no one even wanted” the development, the limited sphere of influence, defined as those within 100m of the development, doesn’t take the wider town into account, which is now at the mercy of the increased congestion. The subsequent small number of responses and attendees to the in-person event suggest that perhaps the residents did not, at the time, understand the duration of work required, or potential for disruption, to install the small stretch of cycle lane. In comparison to the relatively small dataset obtained by the consultation, many of the posts on social media residents groups have upwards of 100 comments, with the overwhelming majority espousing a negative view of the project.

When pressed on the matter, Sam elaborates that the issues facing the shop are not just excess of traffic, but a lack of it too:

“Over the years business have left or changed and there’s less of a reason to come down Leigh rd really. But since they closed the bridge off business has just completely dropped off. The road is either completely dead - I think cars are just avoiding the centre of Leigh all together. It’s like all the people have just disappeared.

But then after 2:30 we experience a different problem - when the schools let out the traffic becomes so awful that you can’t move and usually we don’t get a single customer after 3pm. So we have taken the decision to close at 3pm - starting on Monday 2nd December. We will look at this again in the new year and hopefully move back to our normal hours.”

It’s Sam’s view that the town undulates from one extreme to the other - too quiet during the day followed by too busy once the school run picks up. It’s clear that the bridge closure contributes to the increased traffic queues at peak times. But it’s less obvious if the reduced footfall at other times of the day is also a product of the cycle lane development, or more a symptom of Leigh’s great decline. Sam goes on to discuss how Leigh is changing for local businesses and the conglomeration of different shops into the supermarket.

“Leigh as a town centre I feel is a total mess. People on the Leigh fb pages always reminisce about Leigh the way it used to be. We had Bradshawgate which was a proper high street of shops. We had a proper outdoor market near the library etc. When they got rid of that and built spinning gate it all started to die.

By building that the town centre split in two and shifted. Then they built big Asda and then later came Sainsburys and the retail park which further split the shopping experience. And then Tesco. All the supermarkets sell pretty much the same thing. And they sell everything! Which made the little shops redundant really. The retail parks offer free parking so this makes shopping in the town hard work.

It’s like the council can’t decide what to do.”

Sam touches on a point echoed by many Leythers on the doorstep - that in their view, Wigan Borough Council have a tendency to misallocate resources instead of implementing the fundamental reform needed to revive Leigh. Many view the projects undertaken by the council as fiddling while Rome burns - such as the much maligned redevelopment of the Galleries in Wigan [2]. Some view the demolition and rebuild of the recently constructed galleries to be a misuse of effort and funds which could be better spent on Leigh instead of Wigan (others view it as the necessary correction of the mistake of the last redevelopment).

The view of many older residents around the town is that of a sad fondness at the Leigh they remember from the 1980s and 1990s. As with much of the North West, Leigh was once a bustling town full of independent shops much like Browns of Leigh. But following the collapse of British coal mining in the 1980s, large parts of the town were left destitute and out of work. The deletion of Beeching cuts in the late 1960s left Leigh as one of Britain’s largest towns without a railway link. This was compounded by the lack of major roads connecting the town with anywhere else, meaning that the automobile couldn’t save the town either. The industrial employers left soon afterward with the downsizing of the cable manufacturing which employed thousands (a small portion remains today). Many areas of the town centre have become run-down, with dirty pavements and litter-strewn back-alleys. One need only wander down Railway Road to experience the urban decay first hand. Ironically, by continuing on and crossing the bypass, you’d arrive at the new retail park, with three large supermarkets, which serve many people wishing to avoid the town centre.

Sam goes on to discuss a pertinent example involving the old high street of Leigh:

“The money they spent on re-laying the flags on Bradshawgate years ago - what a complete waste of money that was. It was done very badly and has made no difference to the shopping experience.

When they first wanted to spend that money local businesses were invited to give their opinions. We were included even though we were well out of the zone. The owner of the Pictorium had a great idea - spend the money on local businesses. Make them have uniform signs and a canopy over each shop (similar to Southport) it would look inviting and when raining would keep shoppers dry and keep them shopping. I thought that was so exciting.

There were other good ideas but clearly that money had already been earmarked because we all said don’t do the path do something beneficial but hey ho they did the path.. badly.. and now it needs doing again.”

The rearranging of the deckchairs in this case is just one example of the referenced ill-thought out plans laid by the council. Another frequently voiced concern is the overdevelopment of the area. As part of a borough of Greater Manchester, Leigh and the surrounding towns are lacking in green space. Housing overdevelopment is one of the key issues facing the area, and is frequently opposed by residents on the council planning portal before being resolutely passed by councillors and the planning committee. Farmland is increasingly being concreted over for large estates, such as the upcoming development on Pocket Nook Farm in Lowton [3]. Even areas directly adjacent to wildlife conservation spaces are to be built on, such as the upcoming development off the Sportsman roundabout, covering the green areas north of the canal [4]. A few miles to the East of Leigh, over a thousand houses are being built in Mosley Common, despite a 4,000-strong resident petition to stop the plans, alongside over 600 objections [5]. For all of these new housing developments, it’s the same story locally and nationally - little to none of the necessary associated infrastructure investment such as the creation of new roads or amenities for the area, leaving schools oversubscribed, inexhaustive hospital waiting lists, and roads gridlocked.

Figure 4 - Pocket Nook Farm development

Sam concludes with her remarks on the town centre:

“The town needs bringing together in one place. One focus. Make it a hive of activity. Not spaced out all over the place. I don’t know what would make things better for us - we will see what happens when the bridge reopens I guess. I know myself I’m avoiding driving anywhere into town.”

Work on the new cycle lane will pause on 12th of December 2024 for four weeks over the Christmas period, with all restrictions lifted. The development and partial road closure will resume on 6th of January 2025 for a further 12 weeks.

George Woodward
Chairman - Reform UK
Leigh & Atherton Branch
leighandatherton@reformuk.com

With quotes from Sam Johnson Brown, Browns of Leigh.

[1] - ‘St Helens Road, Leigh, Walking & Cycling Scheme’ Wigan Borough Council website. Wigan Borough Council. Available at: https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Docs/PDF/Resident/Parking-Roads-Travel/Travel/StHelensRd /St-Helens-Road-FAQs.pdf (Accessed: 29 November 2024).

[2] - Cunningham, C. (2022) ‘Concerns raised as Galleries redevelopment adds to £600m Wigan Council costs’, Leigh Journal, 18 October 2022. Available at: https://www.leighjournal.co.uk/news/23058145.concerns-raised-galleries-redevelopmentadding-600m-wigan-council-debts/ (Accessed: 29 November 2024).

[3] - Cunningham, C. (2024) ‘Controversial plans for 236 homes in Lowton passes despite objections’, Leigh Journal, 14 March 2024. Available at: https://www.leighjournal.co.uk/news/24184458.controversial-plans-236-homes-lowton-p asses-despite-objections/ (Accessed: 29 November 2024).

[4] - Anonymous Resident (2016) ‘Residents “not listened to” over proposed 470-home development’, Leigh Journal, 31 August. Available at: https://www.leighjournal.co.uk/yoursay/leighetters/14714366.residents-not-listened-to-ov er-proposed-470-home-development/ (Accessed: 29 November 2024).

[5] - Jackson, N. (2024) ‘New “community” of 1,000 homes to be built in Mosley Common’, Leigh Journal, 4 October. Available at: >https://www.leighjournal.co.uk/news/24629571.new-community-1-000-homes-built-mosl ey-common/ (Accessed: 29 November 2024).