Planning application refused for the erection of a three bedroomed house

16 Mar 2020 09:38
Published by: Daniel Almond

Bolton Council has refused a planning application to demolish outbuildings on land at Shepherds Drive in Horwich and for a three bedroomed house to be built in their place.

The land is in the Green Belt and planning officer Kara Hamer has concluded that the proposed development represented inappropriate development within the Green Belt and that the applicant had not provided any evidence of very special circumstances that development should take place, to outweigh the harm caused. She also concluded that the proposal was contrary to Bolton's Allocations Plan as well as Section 13 of the National Planning Policy Framework. The applicant also failed to submit information relating to land contamination so it was concluded that there was insufficient information to demonstrate the suitability of the site for its intended use contrary to Bolton Council's Core Strategy and the National Planning Policy Framework.

It was the fourth application to erect a house on the site since 2016 and the previous three planning applications had all been refused.

Thirteen letters of objection to the plans were received by Bolton Council which included one by Labour Ward Councillor, Richard Silvester.

He said, ‘I have objected to all of the planning applications to build a house at this site on Shepherds Drive because it is Green Belt land. The application site has been controversial with local residents over the years and I have supported them with their concerns against such development. I am very pleased that yet again, such a proposal has been refused because there are no very special circumstances to build a house here within the Green Belt. I have always promised my residents across Horwich North East Ward that I will object to building in the Green Belt because it needs to be protected and this is another application which has been knocked back which is good news. I want to thank everyone for objecting to it'.

You may be interested in