Wigan Flashes

Does anyone have information on what the flashes were used for or how they used before they became open water spaces which are now part of a nature reserve complex.Any infomation would be appreciated.

"The borough is famous for its ‘Flashes’ - lakes created from mining subsidence - and Pennington is the finest example."

Taken from Wigan Borough Guide (click A Walk on the Wildside)

I used to visit this area quite a lot as the fishing is very good.

I recently went there and was confronted by a gand of thug teenagers who thought it would be good to try and get into our van and steal our belongings. They where also very intimidating with very threatening behavour.

At this time we hadn't even got out of the van. I can't imagine what could of happened if we had already been fishing.

Also the area now is covered in litter, the most being lots of empty beer cans.

Being an angler I am very keen to see this area looked after, but after 9 years of visiting this area that could be my last as it is getting worse all the time.

Thanks for this posting as being an Islander (Poolstocker) this is close to my heart. A lot of the area covered by the Flashes used to be farmland located over minework. During the mid to late 19th century the working collapsed and filled with water - hence the flashes. Regardless of what brians quote from the Wigan Guide sya these are the 'finest example' of the phenonemon and because of their relative isolation have maintained their natural serenity and beauty.
However, that is about to end as the Wigan council in all its wisdom is going to build a road through them. You wont find any negative comments about that obscenity in the Wigan Borough Guide! They always go on about how green this council is. This council is about as green as an oil slick!

Once again I have to disagree with spudmagoooo because where the new road will run, is at present a 'dump' the new road will improve the place and make it look better

Ghostman - I should have added that a lot of the people on these sites (but not all) are either for the road or indifferent to the effect it will have on the nature reserve. I am utterly opposed to the road, but if this thread continues you will able to glean the position of the other contributors. Some of them have their own agendas. As for sir bobs comments about "dump", well you can go over there and judge for yourself. Then imagine a dual carriageway running through it - or by the side of it or over it or under it or whatever. People like sir bob always cloud the real issue by saying it is not going through the Flashes etc etc. Whether it is will or not is irrelevant - it will still have a negative impact! And it is very rewarding when people like sir bob disagree with what I have to say. It gives my comments validity.

You'll get into trouble sm reopening old threads, there's only the elite few allowed to do that

Some issues just never seem to go away do they - and this one definitely shouldn't!

The new road will run at the edge of the main flashes, not through them and look at it a different way, when the new road is built and someone visits Wigan for the first time, imagine this....

Instead of their first impression of Wigan being traffic congested Poolstock Lane, instead after leaving the motorway as they enter Wigan, they will look over to their right and be greeted by the sight of Scotmans Flash, with a sailing club and sailing boats on the water and the view of the GreenHeart of Wigan extending over into the distance, there will be lakes has far as the eye can see ...

Surely if someone is thinking of moving to Wigan to live or set up a business here, the sight of the flashes, is going to give a much better impression of the town than what Poolstock Lane gives at present ...

That new road will bring prosperity to Wigan and get rid of the eyesore which is what the Westwood area is at present

A wondrous image you paint, Bob. Then someone will want a house in such an idyll. Before you know it, the flashes are a mere pond surrounded by a housing estate.

Na! the houses will be built in Standish

To sir bobs comments the only response is bollocks - and unlike Paul I wont be apologising. When you mentioned the land over the Flashes being a dump you seem to have forgotten the pics that were posted by anthony1 a couple of weeks ago. Convenient! Didn't look like a dump to me boyo!
And Mache - the houses wont be built in Standish. The road THROUGH the Flashes is only the beginning.
I cant understand why some of you champion these attrocites visited on the town by the scouncil - it beggars belief. Are you born and bred or what?

I'm over the flashes a lot and I can't think where this dump id Bob. Maybe it was a good few years ago but everything has grown now and it all looks great.

Plus I would rather the locals something nice to look at and to go to than visitors having the great entrance.

I was told that the road would be sunken into the old railway embankment and so the view would no be there in the first place.

bobs blinkered - he only sees what he wants to see - and what the scouncil want him to see. If anthony1 is still on the planet maybe he could repost those pics. Its academic anyhow - the area wont look like that when the scouncil and its 'partners' have finished with it.

They sold all the land behind the tippings.

I fear Mac that the road will go ahead because there is not enough of a groundswell of opposition. The tragedy of the Flashes is the new estates - they live near the Flashes but do not have that emotional or spiritual bond with the town and its environment that they should have. Too many Albert dockers etc etc. They are only interested in getting from a to b with as little effort as possible. They are not all like that of course - but the majority of them are. They dont care what their councillors are up to when it comes to ravaging Wigan.
I have to say though that no issue in the town can rattle the cages of the Albert dockers and scouncil lackeys better than this one. After this posting the birds will start squawking!

spudmagoo

If you look at this picture, which is the bit of the road which has already been built, it goes from the roundabout at Westwood Way, to where it will join the new road from Goose Green, you can see Pearsons Flash in the background behind the trees and the line of trees is the 'line' of the old railway line, which the new road will follow.



You can see more pictures of that location here HERE

Coming from Goose Green the road slices through Waddikers/ Scotsmans and then over the canal where the Blue Bridge was and then through Westwood Lodge /Pearsons. It clearly goes through the Flashes and cannot help but have an impact on them - despite whatever cosmetics the council may apply ie tree screens.

I saw Wigan Flashes and thought it was a spin off from that breastfeeding topic.

Maybe you are right.

spudmagoo

The old railway line already 'slices' between Waddickers and Scotmans, which is what you mean and that Waddickers, is not a flash it is just a pond wi a few fish in it

Waddickers pond


View folk will have across flashes from the new road

Yes bob - but the old line is disused and does not have traffic flowing through it - no diesel fumes and no noise or any other forms of pollution. There's the rub man

spudmagoo

I suppose you were underground with 'swampy' when they were trying to build the second runway at Manchester Airport

This is that fly ash I was on about the other week, the lighter coloured fly ash, sits on top of the darker coloured ground level soil, at the side of the road and that nasty fly ash is what is under all the grass and trees around there ...

Recent excavation?

That how they get around saying that it doesn't go through the flashes. One of them is a pond and not a flash.

Splitting hairs if you ask me.

sir bob

what makes you think the Waddikers is a pond?

it isn't a pond

it's a flash

Wigan Flash!

Let's give it it's proper name

Waddikers Flash

Is this road going to come anywhere near to Hindley way??

19/20 years ago when I moved into my house I was given a map of a duel carraigway coming near to were I live, but was told it would never get built because it would cast to much, would this be the afore mentioned road??? I think the road would be the 556/8 not sure.

I've found a letter that we recieved of our solicitors on

21/09/94 saying that the road ROUTE 225 (sorry about the road number I gave before), the map shows the road going behind the Strangeway pub on Liverpool road Hindley.Don't
know if it is he same road though.

Its a pity that the map is to large to print out onto Wigan World.

Sirbob As you can see if you read my post with the ROUTE 225

on my other post well its surprising what you find in other papers loking throu my files would the new road that is mentioned be the old A5225???

This road would be a section of the B5225. They could extend it at a later date but I wouldn't hold my breath.

bob jamse and vet - are you guys for real - get on another thread. Jamse doesn't know what a flash is like bob = obviously albertdockers. Dont know where vet is cummin from!
Neither does he from his posting!

You must have read my comments wrong spud.

jamse - the road goes THROUGH THE FLASHES = OK! Didn't read you wrong. bob tries to muddy the water and he aint too good at it!

TOM - have you been in my drinks cab? Just re-read Jamses'posting and I apologise. Sorry jamse! My eyes mist over and I get very intolerant about the issue of the road thru the Flashes and sometimes I cannot distinguish between friend or foe. Forgive me for that.

Hey it's no problem. I have posted along the same lines as you all along on this spud.

Waddickers is a pond not a flash

veteran

As I recall


Timeline …..

Late 1980's … Government gave go ahead for Route 225, the extension of the M58 from Orrell to the M61 at Bolton, which would have completed the Northern Liverpool – Manchester link road.

The central Liverpool – Manchester link road, is the A580 East Lancs Road.

The Southern Liverpool – Manchester link road, is the M62

Route 225 would not have been designated a motorway, but would have been a three lane duel carriageway and after the actual route for the route had been decided and the legalities had been completed, public enquiries etc and the go ahead given for construction of the road, it was now the early 1990's and the country was in an economic recession and in 1992 with only six months to go until the start of construction of the road, John Major's Government cancelled all new road building in the country to save money and for the next 10 years or so the road was 'shelved awaiting funding' Tony Blair's Government finally cancelled Route 225 circa 2002

Wigan Council then decided to build the road themselves and a duel carriageway was planned to follow the same route as Route 225 except that the road would run to Atherleigh Way at Atherton, instead of the M61 at Bolton, diverting from Route 225 at Amberswood.

The proposed the duel carriageway, the A5225 would be built in stages, the first stage, which is what we are hopefully going to get soon, will go from Goose Green opposite Little Lane, to Westwood Park via Worsley Mesnes and Poolstock.

I have got one pic of the proposed route of Wigan Council's A5225



I have got some more pictures of the proposed road from a decade ago and if I find them I will post them

Tonker once posted an interesting article about the M58 and how it is the most under used motorway in the country and during the 1960's it was called something else and I remember riding my push bike along it in 1972 when it was known as the Skem bypass and it was a duel carriageway then, shortly after that it was made into the M58

Bob's Knob!

Who want's a motorway right through Wigan?

Ta Tonker

The route A5225 was included in the road plans for lancs in 1949,there were 3 routes at 1st,the pink,red and blue,the pink was dropped 1st,the red was then favoured,which meant going through Borsdane Wood,the Blue was the final one,which went across Liverpool Rd,at a meeting in the 90s at Formby Hall it was said the route 5225 would be open by 2001,it was later sidelined,but is still on the plans.
[url=http://s134.photobucket.com/user/amberswood/media/img108copy_zpsd0e36c3e.jpg.html]


[ing=http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q96/amberswood/img108copy_zpsd0e36c3e.jpg][/img]

I can't sort out how to post the image.

[URL=http://s134.photobucket.com/user/amberswood/media/img108copy_zpsd0e36c3e.jpg.html][/URL]

change the [ing=-to [img= spud, it will work then.

Ta Mac,I'd done that,but took the url off as well.

spud I have quite a lot of papers from when I bought my
house I know that I put different road numbers on I just didn't find the right one at first and I do know where I'M coming from and going to. your another so called clever and ignorant person.

could you guys affix the number 1 to spud to avoid confusing him with me?

Hi Veteran,it would be better if you said spudmagoo,I thought you meant me for a minute.

spot on Spud 1 - because we could have differing views on a thread and then confusion will reign!
Oh and when is a pond not a pond - answer = when its a Flash/ As is Waddikers. I believe it started life as part of Scotsmans before the railway line disected it/

Spuds are very dear at the moment, Asda want to charge 2 pounds for a 2.5kg bag of potatoes (taters) which is not as much as the old 5lb bag of spuds

Anyroad..... ('road'___thats a pun)

Anyroad

I have just read about what Government is going to spend on road building, in order to try and win next General Election

"Spending Review: Energy and transport to get share of £100bn"

"The road building programe will be the largest there as been for 40 years"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23074245

sir bob That should make you and others of your ilk extremely happy!

sir bob
where's the money coming from?

He may not get back to you on that one Anthony1

Anthony

Where did the money come from to build the M6,M58 etc I would imagine the same sources of funding, will be used to fund the future transport projects in this country

I told you he wouldn't get back to you - he may have bobbed (a pun) out for a box of Flash. And no bob that isn't a pond.

I didn't ask where it came from 60 odd years ago,
where's it gonna come from now given the current economic situation?

bob will find the answer in a flash I'm sure!

Sorry Spud1 I'll tell the wife later when she comes home
very often does these getting names wrong. got me in
trouble before.

You DID get back bob - sorrreee!

anthony

I didn't ask where it came from 60 odd years ago,
where's it gonna come from now given the current economic situation?"

Well I dunno anthony, I'll hazard a guess and say it will come from same place, where the money is coming from now, to build what the Government is building now, such as the Crossrail Project

http://www.crossrail.co.uk/about-us/funding#.Uc3Ha5xc6HQ



www.crossrail.co.uk

we all know where the cash is coming from,

it's coming from those who can ill afford it.

I agree anthony, but if we are going to 'ill' afford something, then we might as well 'ill' afford something proper what's worth doing, such as building that road

I see they haven't raided your pension yet

First of all I believe that the road is unnecessary - jobs for the boys in the shape of public money siphoned into private hands. If the road is meant to be a bypass then they need to look at The Council For the Protection of Rural Englands' own studies on bypasses - they don't work! And if we are - as some people suspect - going to have an industrial and housing estate grafted (pun intended) on to the road then it is going to cause more stress on the so-called bypass. Sometimes there are more important things in life than greed and economics - the integrity of the Flash for the people of this town is one of them.

spudmagoo

You are like Mr Magoo, you can't see a bloody thing



When you follow the route of the new road, past Worsley Mesnes and across Poolstock Lane and you carry on along the old (crappy) railway embankment, over to the right are the flashes, the green heart of Wigan and over to the left you have a smallish pond called Waddickers and then grassed over crap land, where the power station and cooling towers once stood ....

The new road, marina, houses, buisness park, budgie watching place (designed by Oy no doubt) will be built on the 'crappy' Westwood part of that area, NOT on nice 'flashy' part of that area and which will look better, that nasty, filthy, grey, built from mine spoil, railway embankment or a nice landscaped, new road, with trees and green bushes etc and as I said earlier, it will be a good advert for the Town too

If route A5226 had been completed by 2001 it would have been brilliant for most people,no new road can please everyone,it would have linked the M6 with the M61 and the original Red route was for a full Motorway,which would have been even better,it would have taken a huge ammount of traffic away from the towns,and a lot of traffic fumes too.

spud 1 - it would have taken a huge amount of traffic away from the towns,and a lot of traffic fumes too.

At last someone who has admitted to pollution = so it is okay to poison the environment as long as we can get from a to b?

And as for you bob - I'm not that blind that I can't see a scouncil lackey/apologist when I see one!

spudmagoo

spud1 means it would have taken pollution away from the towns along the route and traffic on a motorway produces less pollution, than if it is traveling along traffic congested urban routes.

And I don't think you do your argument much good, by keeping on verbally attacking and insulting me.

sir bob
bet your sick of washing egg off your face.
you must have fell out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down.

if you hate the town so much, why don't you go somwhere else

Whatever