4 days ago
'We've had enough' - Residents outrage at car park being used as storage
Residents living on an estate by Bolton at Home have expressed frustration with their car parks being used for storage.
Jimmy Gingell, 55, said that the shared car park at Cheriton Gardens, off Green Lane in Horwich, was stocked full of shipping containers for two months earlier this year.
At the end of last month, residents on the estate on Kemble Close, which also includes Roxton Close and Stratton Grove, got a letter – saying the containers would return for another three months.
He said: 'There's more than a hundred residents up in arms, we've got a letter to say 'move your cars'.
'There's people living here with disabilities – one parks his car right next to his flat, he would have to walk 20 times the distance with his shopping and he has really bad legs.'
Bolton at Home, who own the estate, said that the parking spaces were to be used as temporary storage while they replace windows on their other Horwich properties.
Jimmy said that the estate has been used to store the shipping containers for years – however, Bolton at Home has said they are now looking at other locations.
Jimmy said: 'We thought it was just a one-off, but every year they come back and now we're sick of it.'
Wilf Brindle, 58, another resident on the estate said that it took him four hours to clean up the car park after the containers left the last time.
He said: 'I think it's pretty ridiculous, when we bought the property it said that it has residents parking for us in this car park.
'When they took the containers off, the car park was full of glass and it took me and another lad four hours to sweep the car park.
'It's only been a month and they want to put them back.'
Kemble Close (Image: Google Maps) He said that the price for insurance that residents on the estate pay would go up without having the car park to keep their cars overnight.
Along with this – he said the containers attract anti-social behaviour from kids messing with materials left around them.
Wilf said: 'It causes anti-social behaviour, kids coming around and grabbing stuff and messing around near the containers.
'Messing about with the skip and the glass, at about half past nine they were throwing glass
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Lynda Mabon, 68, said that last time the containers were there – they were tall enough to totally block her windows.
She said: 'It's ridiculous, they were going to put two of them against my window and because they're so big, I wouldn't be able to see anything.
'We've got weeds growing all over the place and they've done nothing about that, but they still want shipping containers for jobs that aren't even being done on the estate.'
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Gemma Parlby, group director of customer and communities at Bolton at Home, said: 'We are currently delivering a window replacement scheme across some of our properties in Horwich.
'As part of this project, our team has been identifying suitable storage locations on Bolton at Home land for temporary storage, ensuring there is adequate space for deliveries and contractor vehicle access.
'After careful consideration, the area at Green Lane was identified as the most appropriate location to support this project and residents in adjacent homes were sent a letter informing them in advance about the planned use of this land.
'Following conversations with some residents, we are currently exploring alternative locations to support the project. However, we retain the right to use the land in future should we need to use it to complete the project.'
