Maiden Northstone scheme wins consent

Northstone, the housebuilding arm of developer Peel L&P, has secured approval for the first 19 homes within its extended project at Roscoe’s Farm, Westhoughton.

The business, which has also announced a £10m credit facility with HSBC to fund further development in the region, obtained consent from Bolton Council last week for the first tranche of homes, as it looks to expand a scheme long in the works to 150 houses in total.

In 2014, Jones Homes proposed a 99-home project at the Peel L&P-owned site, a proposal then extended to 106 homes, which narrowly won planning permission in 2016, with the plans attracting some opposition.

Now under Peel L&P’s control, an application was made earlier this year by planning advisor NJL Consulting to change some conditions to the consent, allowing ground to be broken in May this year. Work in earnest on the first 19 homes will begin in autumn, with an application for the remaining 131 homes to be submitted soon.

The Bolton Road development will offer two, three and four-bed properties. Northstone said that homes will form part of outward-facing communities, with mature landscaping and pocket parks within the scheme.

Work at Roscoe’s is expected to start in autumn 2019 with the completion of homes due in April 2020.

Phil Wilson, chief executive of Northstone, said: “These are really important milestones for Northstone and we’re really excited to have planning consent and funding in place to start delivering our vision with our first homes in Bolton.

“We’ve worked with the council and residents to shape the plans for our Roscoe’s Farm scheme which meets local housing needs and we’re confident will meet the needs of generations to come.

“We look forward to working with HSBC UK to build much-needed quality homes and set a new benchmark for design and quality of residential development across the North West.”