Aidan Thatcher has been the borough’s director of place since 2022. Some of the senior officers on the council, he was accountable for a variety of headline providers for the council together with planning, housing, property and belongings, constructing management, regeneration and financial improvement.
He headed the division which really useful approval of the controversial Astley warehouses improvement which was handed by the council’s planning committee in June 2024.
Among the many big tasks introduced ahead throughout his tenure are the Galleries regeneration within the city centre into the Fettlers advanced, the redevelopment at Eckersley mill inside the Wigan pier space and attracting greater than £20m of regeneration cash to remodel Haigh Corridor.
The Astley logistics park has been roundly criticised for its measurement and proximity to houses in Tyldesley. An unbiased report final yr concluded that the council had adopted planning processes appropriately.
The council has additionally lately modified tack on some employment and new houses tasks set to be constructed on inexperienced areas within the borough.
Final month, 4 such tasks have been overlooked of the draft native plan after being included in earlier strategic improvement plans.
The doc greenlit for public session excludes improvement of The Bell, north of Junction 26 of the M6, the Moss Industrial Property extension, a pocket of land West of Winwick Lane in Lowton, and the Bridgewater West allocation, which might have seen former greenbelt land in Astley allotted for an enormous enterprise park.
Mr Thatcher is a excessive profile determine on the planet of native authorities and in 2022 delivered a keynote speech at LGC Future Locations convention entitled ‘Creating inspiring locations; constructing robust communities’.
He has greater than 20 years of expertise working inside place based mostly providers and is a full member of the Royal City Planning Institute.
It’s understood Mr Thatcher left the council publish to pursue new challenges.
Reacting to Mr Thatcher’s resignation, Cllr James Fish, an unbiased member for Tyldesley and Mosley Widespread stated: “I’ve repeatedly challenged the route taken by the place directorate, significantly with regards to main improvement, inexperienced belt and the way in which residents’ considerations have been dealt with.
“For me, the Astley warehouses might be an enduring instance of what went fallacious. “Big warehouses have been accepted near folks’s houses and Garrett Corridor Major Faculty, regardless of critical considerations being raised concerning the impression on the encompassing neighborhood.
“I consider Wigan Council and our communities want a distinct route.”
A Wigan Council spokesperson stated: “Throughout his time at Wigan council, Aidan has made a valued contribution to the organisation and to the borough.
“He has offered management throughout a variety of providers and programmes and has labored with colleagues, companions and communities to help the council’s priorities.”
Mr Thatcher declined to remark when approached about his leaving Wigan council.