A homeowner whose house overlooks Tyldesley's controversial 'giant cruise ship' warehouses says the development has cut £170,000 off the value of his property. Bricklayer David Gerrard, who lives on Thistlecroft, said an estate agent who carried out the valuation gave him 'even worse' news, suggesting the property would probably not sell anyway.
Mr Gerrard said he and his wife Joanne bought the property when the estate was newly built in 2019 and they have since worked extensively on it. He said a valuation before the Astley Business Park was constructed put the home at £550,000 'all day long'. However, a valuation in late August this year indicated a loss of £150,000 to £170,000 from the previous valuation.
'Completely due to the development'
Mr Gerrard said: “I’ve been a bricklayer since the age of 16, I don’t have a pension, I was told to put money into bricks and mortar and that what we did. I believe the loss of value is completely due to the development. We had it valued a couple of days ago, we knew from talking to neighbours that the value had gone down.
“I was totally shocked to find out the extent. He said we were looking at a loss of £150,000 to £170,000. I was expecting maybe £40,000 to £50,000. What he also said which was even worse was that we probably wouldn’t be able to sell it.”
Mr Gerrard said that even though the land close to the estate had previously been designated for employment use, he did not expect the scale of the warehouses to be as they are. He said: “When we bought the house we knew it had been designated employment land but as far as we were concerned nothing came up on our searches and the plans had lapsed in 2017 for the warehouses they had proposed.
“Common sense would have said now there’s houses here, these classes of warehouses wouldn’t be built. We expected maybe something small – you know, smaller, Screwfix sized units. You would have to be crackers to expect something like these.”
Mayor visits site
Mr Gerrard was speaking after joining Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig, who visited the site on August 28. She said the controversial giant warehouse development in Tyldesley 'doesn't sit right' with her. The mayor met representatives of the Astley Warehouses Action Group, including Mr Gerrard, while walking around the perimeter of the site.
Earlier this summer, logistics firm Whistl became the first operator at one of the giant sheds. The development, commissioned by PLP, has been dogged by controversy for more than a year since building work started. Many residents, some of whom have gardens just 30 metres from the 350,000 sq ft logistics site, have criticised the huge scale and appearance of the 'towering warehouses'.
Bev Craig said: “I was really keen to talk to residents, like everyone else I’ve seen the pictures online and it didn’t sit right with me to build something so big so close to residential properties. I heard from residents about the noise and other problems they’ve been experiencing, the flooding and even hearing about the basics such as the quality of the landscaping. I don’t have planning powers but I want to use the role that I’ve got to make residents feel that they are heard.”
Overnight operations to stop
Earlier this week, Whistl said it would end overnight transport operations at its site after admitting noise 'has had an impact on nearby residents'. In July, it had started around the clock operations. Since 24-hour operations, including numerous HGV movements began, nearby households have reported issues about noise, with some complaining of sleep disturbance, banging and background hum. The company has now agreed to cease transport operations between midnight and 6am from September 7.
