After a miserable winter, Stephen Retford thought things were looking up. How wrong he was. <\/p>\n
The retired police officer, 70, has lived on the Henfold Estate in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester<\/a>, for 40 years \u2013 moving into this quiet slice of suburbia as soon as it was built. <\/p>\n For almost all of those four decades, the garden of his house backed onto fields and he enjoyed the views over them. <\/p>\n But that came to an abrupt end last year with the construction of the Astley Business Park, made up of four hulking warehouses<\/a> \u2013 up to 60ft tall, on that land, just over his garden fence.<\/p>\n Distraught residents told The Independent of their<\/a> anger over the construction of the four warehouses, claiming that the process was damaging their homes, while the views from their windows were blocked by the massive structures which now tower over them.<\/p>\n Construction completed in January 2026 and distribution firm Whistl became the first organisation to operate from one of the warehouses, setting up shop last month. <\/p>\n Now, the locals claim that Whistl is working through the night and the noise of its operations, in particular its heavy goods vehicles, in such close proximity to their homes is making their lives a misery.<\/p>\n Mr Retford\u2019s home is directly opposite the firm\u2019s service yard and he says the noise means he cannot sleep. <\/p>\n \u201cThe noise is 24\/7. It is constant throughout the night,\u201d Mr Retford told The Independent.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cGiven the hot weather we\u2019ve been having, if you have your window open, it\u2019s like sleeping on a motorway service station \u2013 in the heavy goods vehicle part.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Retford remains frustrated that Wigan<\/a> Council allowed the construction of the warehouses that now tower over his home. But he believes the granting of a licence to Whistl to work overnight has added insult to injury. <\/p>\n \u201cNot only did they build these warehouses right on top of our homes, but they then granted a 24\/7 operating certificate for them,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you ever want to crush a community, build them in the first place, and then give the occupants a 24\/7 operation permit.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Retford is part of local action group Astley Warehouse Action, which has brought together residents<\/a> from the various housing estates surrounding the business park.<\/p>\n The group was formed to oppose the development and is demanding that overnight operations are stopped immediately. <\/p>\n They met with representatives from Whistl and Wigan Council on Wednesday, and a spokesperson for the distribution firm said it put forward a proposal to address their concerns. The local authority welcomed that and added it would \u201cassess whether the steps taken have the desired effect and, if necessary, to explore other potential options\u201d.<\/p>\n John Peters, 72, who has lived on the estate for more than 30 years, is among the leaders of the campaign group. He said that what residents are enduring now is proving to be even more challenging than the construction phase. <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2254043916...jpeg\")
The huge warehouses now dominate the estate (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-12-at-17-05-51.jpeg\")
The view from Retford\u2019s back garden, with one of the warehouses now towering over it (supplied)<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Photo-of-the-group.jpg\")
The Astley Warehouse Action group opposed the development from the get-go (Astley Warehouse Action)<\/p>\n![\"Houses](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2254044040...jpeg\")
Houses are now dwarfed by the nearby warehouses (Getty)<\/p>\n