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4 Bold Street Bolton BL1 1LS

21217/25Full Planning PermissionRefused
Full

Refused on 29 December 2025

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 VACANT GROUND FLOOR AND EVENT HALL TO FIRST FLOOR (SUI GENERIS) TO 8 NO. BEDROOM HMO (SUI GENERIS) FOR 8 OCCUPANTS.

Received
15 October 2025
Decision level
Delegated (officer decision)
Ward
Queens Park & Central
Agent
Northedge Architecture
  1. Received15 Oct
  2. Validated7 Nov
  3. Consult.28 Nov
  4. Target19 Dec
  5. Decided29 Dec

Decided in 52 days (council typically 56)

About this application

This is a full planning application for a change of use at 4 Bold Street Bolton BL1 1LS. Bolton has handled 3,200 applications of this type. This one was decided in 75 days, 3 weeks longer than Bolton's typical decision time. The site is in 9 listed buildings nearby. There has been 1 other application at this address. In the past year there have been 145 applications across Queens Park & Central. 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 a high standard of amenity for future residents, by reason of the proposed limited communal space, the lack of natural light to the proposed ground floor lounge area and the poor outlook and loss of privacy for the occupants of the three bedrooms located at ground floor level, contrary to policy JP-P1 of the Place for Everyone Joint Development Plan and policy CG4 of Bolton's Core Strategy.
  2. The proposed development fails to take the opportunities available to deliver on-site renewable energy generation and inadequate justification been provided as to why it would not be practicable or financially viable to do so, contrary to the requirements of Policy JP-S2 of Places for Everyone Joint Development Plan.
  3. Insufficient information has been provided to allow the application to be considered in terms of the accessibility and adaptability expectations of Policy JP-H3 of Places for Everyone Joint Development Plan.

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
BL1 1LS
Application type
Full Planning Permission
Scale / size
Small

Planning application dates

Date validated
7 November 2025
Consultation expiry
28 November 2025
Consultation start
7 November 2025
Consultation end
28 November 2025
Neighbour consultation start
7 November 2025
Neighbour consultation end
28 November 2025
Last date for comments
28 November 2025
Target decision date
19 December 2025
Permission expires
29 December 2028

Applicant and agent

Agent
Northedge Architecture
Agent address
22 Fownhope Avenue Sale M33 4RD United Kingdom

Planning decision

Statutory period
42 days

Additional information

Planning Portal ID
PP-14406211
Documents
12
Constraints
21

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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