'Beautiful' Victorian building will be demolished for housing despite nearly 800 objections
A ‘beautiful’ vacant Victorian building will be demolished in Lowton to make way for houses despite upwards of 800 objections.There had been hopes that Oaklands, a former children’s home which was most recently used as offices by Wigan council, could be retained as a heritage asset for the village.The site off Newton Road, which has been subject to vandalism since falling out of use in 2016, was sold by the local authority to Wiggett Homes.The developer had hoped to build 28 houses but were forced to make changes as it proposed a denser layout and more trees being cut down.Instead there will be 19 houses - a mixture of three and four-bedroom detached and semi-detached properties - and a three-storey apartment block with six two-bedroom