I REFER to the article about Thursday night’s Farnworth Area Forum meeting.

Unbelievable. Totally unbelievable!

You couldn't make it up. Oh hang on. I think St Modwen has, and it must think the people of Farnworth are complete fools.

If these claims about recently discovered major "services" under the market site are true and not more delaying tactics like the recently rumoured mineshaft, then they need to come up with some credible evidence that they exist.

The residents of Farnworth need some straightforward answers:

1 Exactly what are these major services?

2 Where exactly do these services lie?

3 How long have these services been there?

4 What is the estimated cost and timescale of re-routing these services so the redevelopment of the market precinct can go ahead?

St Modwen purchased this site for redevelopment in 2011.

An archaeological desk-based assessment was carried out for St Modwen in 2014 by Oxford Archaeology Ltd.

Are we expected to believe that a major property development company did not also carry out land surveys prior to their purchase in order to ensure the site was suitable for redevelopment?

Farnworth baths stood on the site until they were demolished in the 1970s as part of the last major redevelopment of the market area.

The lease on this site has been owned by at least five different property development companies since 1988 when Bruntwood Estates acquired the site.

Subsequently, it has been owned by Oceana, the Halladale Group who promised a £10 million redevelopment in 2003, Ediston Properties, and now the latest owner St Modwen.

In all this time are we expected to believe that major services limiting new building construction went undiscovered?

Bolton Council has been the land owners of the site over all this time.

Can they explain why they did not know that major "services" ran under the site?

We need some answers now not more excuses, if not from St Modwen then from our local councillors.

OS Bird

Leyton Close

Farnworth