Second bid to protect Chorley New Road from developers

From the The Bolton News, first published Monday 9th Jun 2008.

ONE of Bolton's most affluent areas could soon be protected from developers under proposals to extend the Chorley New Road conservation area.

Members of the Bolton Civic Trust want to safeguard the future of the area - which includes parts of Heaton and Markland Hill - following years of "assault" by developers.

They are in the early stages of putting a proposal together and agreeing what the new boundaries should be.

The application will eventually be submitted to Bolton Council.

It will be the second bid to expand the conservation area by the civic trust after an unsuccessful attempt two years ago.

Civic trust chairman, Brian Tetlow, said: "In recent years the proposed areas have been subjected to an assault by builders.

"The terms of the original conservation document are being breached by inappropriate developments.

"We've seen great masses of apartments and trees being removed altogether. It's becoming a farce."

The existing Chorley New Road Conservation area includes parts of Heaton and Markland Hill, bounded by the railway line to the south and Beaumont Road to the west. The civic trust wants to extend the area to include houses on both sides of Chorley New Road extending to the junction with Chorley Old Road.

The trust is also holding discussions with the Lostock Residents Group about the possibility of including a large part of Lostock in the area.

Conservation areas give the neighbourhoods they protect prestigious status and have more stringent planning rules which make it harder for developers to build within their boundaries.

Bolton has 24 conservation areas.

Each has a different character which reflects part of the borough's history.

Many of them represent the area's industrial heritage, while some are agricultural and village settlements dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries.

The council has the power to create and expand conservation areas, and the final decision would be made by the executive member for development, Cllr Akhtar Zaman, following a report and public consultation.

Mr Tetlow added: "Some of these areas are very sensitive with some very fine properties, some Victorian, some Edwardian.

"These are fine architect-designed properties and they provide Bolton with a character which can't be compared with any other town in the country." The bid will be discussed at the civic trust's next meeting on June 16.

A council spokesman said that, rather than expand the area, a new one may need to be formed if the areas are significantly different in character.