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Victoria Mission Hardman Street Bolton BL4 9JU

21069/25Full Planning PermissionRefused
Full

Refused on 31 October 2025

Delegated (officer decision)4 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 FORMER PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO INTO 24 BEDROOM HMO

Received
19 September 2025
Decision level
Delegated (officer decision)
Ward
Farnworth South
Agent
RT Design
  1. Received19 Sep
  2. Validated19 Sep
  3. Consult.14 Oct
  4. Target31 Oct
  5. Decided31 Oct

Decided in 42 days (council typically 56)

About this application

This is a full planning application for a change of use at Victoria Mission Hardman Street Bolton BL4 9JU. Bolton has handled 3,200 applications of this type. This one was decided in 42 days, 2 weeks quicker than Bolton's typical decision time. There has been 1 other application at this address. In the past year there have been 50 applications across Farnworth South. We hold 270 applications in total for the BL4 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.See what's approved near your address

Why it was refused

  1. The proposed development, by reason of the type of accommodation and the number of units proposed, would increase levels of domestic paraphernalia evident in the area, which would in turn have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the existing building and surrounding area, considered contrary to policies JP-P1 of the Places for Everyone joint development plan, RA2 of the Core Strategy and the wider aims of the NPPF.
  2. The proposed development, by reason of its close proximity to neighbouring dwellings, would have a detrimental impact on the privacy of neighbouring residents and is therefore contrary to policy CG4 of Bolton's Core Strategy.
  3. The proposed development would provide limited usable communal space and outdoor amenity space, together with providing inadequate levels of privacy, access to natural light and outlook for its occupants. This would not provide a high standard of amenity contrary to policy JP-P1 of Places for Everyone, CG4 of Bolton's Core Strategy and the NPPF.
  4. Insufficient information has been provided to fully assess the impact of the proposed development on the highway, therefore contrary to policies JP-C5 and JP-C8 of Places for Everyone.

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
BL4 9JU
Application type
Full Planning Permission
Scale / size
Small

Planning application dates

Date validated
19 September 2025
Consultation expiry
22 October 2025
Consultation start
23 September 2025
Consultation end
14 October 2025
Neighbour consultation start
1 October 2025
Neighbour consultation end
22 October 2025
Last date for comments
22 October 2025
Target decision date
31 October 2025
Permission expires
31 October 2028

Applicant and agent

Agent
RT Design
Agent address
25 Seymour Drive Bradshaw Bolton BL2 3HB United Kingdom

Planning decision

Statutory period
42 days

Appeal

Appeal reference
21069/25

Appeal history

6001517
Dismissed
Type: Planning AppealProcedure: Written RepresentationsDecision: 16 April 2026Dev Type: Change of useReason: refused

Additional information

Planning Portal ID
PP-14345579
Documents
16
Constraints
11

Site constraints

Checking the site
2/3
Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations that overlap or adjoin the site outline.

  • 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 (22)

flood storage areas, conservation areas, listed buildings, green belt, 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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