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Land Adjacent Hawthorn Cottage Little Scotland Bolton BL6 5LW

00504/26Permission in PrincipleRefused
Outline / PiP

Refused on 25 June 2026

2 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

PERMISSION IN PRINCIPLE FOR THE ERECTION OF 2NO. DWELLINGS

Received
19 March 2026
Ward
Historic Record
  1. Received19 Mar
  2. Validated23 Mar
  3. Consult.14 Apr
  4. Target4 May
  5. Decided25 Jun

Decided in 94 days (council typically 56)

About this application

This is an outline application at Land Adjacent Hawthorn Cottage Little Scotland Bolton BL6 5LW. Bolton has handled 517 applications of this type. This one was decided in 98 days, 6 weeks longer than Bolton's typical decision time. There are no previous applications recorded at this address. In the past year there have been 18 applications across Historic Record. We hold 398 applications in total for the BL6 postcode area.

79% of outline 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.See what's approved near your address

Why it was refused

  1. The proposal does not meet all of the criteria set out in paragraph 155 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2024) for Grey Belt land, nor the associated guidance in the Planning Practice Guidance. In particular, the site makes more than a weak/moderate contribution to Green Belt purposes (especially Purpose B - preventing neighbouring towns from merging into one another) when considered in the context of the wider BT_BA03 parcel identified in the Greater Manchester Green Belt Assessment. The site is therefore not Grey Belt land. The proposal represents inappropriate development in the Green Belt, would result in harm to its openness and permanence, and no very special circumstances have been demonstrated that clearly outweigh this harm. The proposal is therefore contrary to Places for Everyone policy JP-G9 and Section 13 of the NPPF.
  2. The proposal would cause significant harm to the rural character and appearance of the site and the wider area, appearing as encroachment into open countryside beyond the established loose linear pattern of development along Little Scotland. It would be contrary to Core Strategy policies CG3 and OA1, and Places for Everyone policy JP-G1 (Landscape Character).

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
BL6 5LW
Application type
Permission in Principle
Scale / size
Small
Parish
Blackrod Town Council

Planning application dates

Date validated
23 March 2026
Consultation expiry
14 April 2026
Consultation start
24 March 2026
Consultation end
14 April 2026
Neighbour consultation start
24 March 2026
Neighbour consultation end
14 April 2026
Last date for comments
14 April 2026
Target decision date
4 May 2026

Applicant and agent

Applicant
Private applicant
Agent
MacMarshalls
Agent address
Hamill House 112-116 Chorley New Road Bolton BL1 4DH

Planning decision

Case officer
Lisa Kingsbury
Statutory period
42 days

Additional information

Documents
8
Constraints
12

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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