A PLOT of land next to the new £4 million Tesco store in Little Lever has been described as an ‘eyesore’.

The land on Lever Street, next to the entrance for shoppers, contains overgrown weeds, rubbish and broken walls.

Business owners in the area say the site, which is owned by the developer Wainhomes, is ruining the street’s image and want it cleaned up.

Alec Bingham, owner of the sign-writing company AB Memorials and Signs, said: “Tesco have done a lovely job getting the store up to scratch and the area has been all done up and then you have got this eyesore sitting beside it.

“The piece of land is an absolute mess — there’s broken walls at the front, there’s rubbish everywhere. The new Tesco is going to attract an influx of shoppers who are going to look at this land and think ‘is this Little Lever?’ It’s not going to help the image of the village.”

Wayne Walker, owner of Vienna Frances Hair Design, said: “Something needs to be done with the land to make the area aesthetically nicer.

“There doesn’t seem to have been anything done with the land for the last seven or eight years — I’ve never seen anyone pulling weeds out or cleaning it up.

“I don’t think giving the land to the community could do any harm. It would give it a use and would bring more people to the area.”

The new Tesco store is due to open at the end of October.

Wainhomes did not respond to several requests for a comment from The Bolton News.