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853 Chorley Old Road Bolton BL1 5SL

00025/26Full Planning PermissionRefused
Full

Refused on 16 March 2026

Delegated (officer decision)3 reasons for refusal

Approximate site (title boundary)
Boundary © HM Land Registry, © Ordnance Survey · details

This information is subject to Crown copyright and database rights 2026 and is reproduced with the permission of HM Land Registry. The polygons (including the associated geometry, namely x, y co-ordinates) are subject to Crown copyright and database rights 2026 Ordnance Survey AC0000851063. Conditions of use.

Proposal

CHANGE OF USE FROM DWELLING (C3) TO 6 NO. BEDROOM HMO FOR 6 OCCUPANTS (CLASS C4)

Received
7 January 2026
Decision level
Delegated (officer decision)
Ward
Smithills
  1. Received7 Jan
  2. Validated22 Jan
  3. Consult.18 Feb
  4. Target5 Mar
  5. Decided16 Mar

Decided in 53 days (council typically 56)

About this application

This is a full planning application for a change of use at 853 Chorley Old Road Bolton BL1 5SL. Bolton has handled 3,200 applications of this type. This one was decided in 68 days, 12 days longer than Bolton's typical decision time. There are no previous applications recorded at this address. In the past year there have been 63 applications across Smithills. We hold 1,099 applications in total for the BL1 postcode area.

81% of full applications at Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council were approved. Across all application types, the council typically decides in about 8 weeks (median).

Based on decided applications received in the last 3 years.Planning something similar? See what gets approved on your street

Why it was refused

  1. The proposed development would not provide acceptable living conditions for future occupiers of bedroom 2, by reason of the cumulative impact of the lack of privacy to the sole window for the room and the relationship of the bedroom with the kitchen/dining area and outdoor communal area, contrary to policy JP-P1 of Place for Everyone Joint Development Plan, policy CG4 of Bolton's Core Strategy and guidance contained within the "General Design Principles" Supplementary Planning Document.
  2. Insufficient information has been provided to demonstrate that adequate parking provision would available to support the proposed 6 bedroom HMO, contrary to policy JP-C8 of Places for Everyone Joint Development Plan and policy P5.5 of Bolton's Core Strategy.
  3. Insufficient information has been provided by the applicant to demonstrate how Places for Everyone Joint Development Plan policy JP-S2 has been complied with.

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
BL1 5SL
Application type
Full Planning Permission
Scale / size
Small

Planning application dates

Date validated
22 January 2026
Consultation expiry
18 February 2026
Consultation start
28 January 2026
Consultation end
18 February 2026
Neighbour consultation start
28 January 2026
Neighbour consultation end
18 February 2026
Last date for comments
18 February 2026
Target decision date
5 March 2026
Permission expires
16 March 2029

Applicant and agent

Agent
HAD & Co
Agent address
Unit 3 Salisbury House St Stephen Street Salford M3 6AX

Planning decision

Statutory period
42 days

Additional information

Planning Portal ID
PP-14600921
Documents
17
Constraints
32

Site constraints

Checking the site
2/3
Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations that overlap or adjoin the site outline.

  • Green belt: Bolton
  • Flood zone 1: Low probability (rivers and sea)

Not published by this council, so not checked: Article 4 directions and tree preservation orders. Ask the council if these matter.

Also checked, none recorded (21)

flood storage areas, conservation areas, listed buildings, scheduled monuments, World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site buffer zones, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, Heritage at Risk entries, nutrient neutrality catchments, national parks, National Landscapes, SSSIs, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, ancient woodland, national nature reserves, local nature reserves, heritage coasts and brownfield registers.

A guide only, from official open data; it is not a planning search. Flood zones cover rivers and sea, not surface water.

Data © Crown copyright and others · sources and licences

Contains public sector information from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG and local planning authorities), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on 2026-11-03. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.

© Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved. Flood Map for Planning, Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Bolton

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