Peel changes £240m Hulton Park plans again

Outdoor sports facilities have been added, Dearden’s Farm buildings retained and an alternative highways option included under the amended pans.

The changes come after Peel L&P received additional feedback from the community and consultees on the 138-acre Bolton project.

The changes are part of Peel’s September planning application for Hulton Park, which itself was a revised version of a 2018 plan. That 2018 application was approved by Bolton Council and, in 2020, by the secretary of state. However, it still faced fierce public opposition.

Peel ultimately opted to submit a new application, implementing comments from a public consultation this summer. That application was submitted in September. It called for Hulton Park to become an “international sports destination and resort” with 1,036 homes.

The latest application amendments include:

• Adding an alternative highways option. Peel is still seeking consent for its original option, which would connect the A6 to Junction 5 of the M61, but now it has also presented a second option that will connect the A6 to the A58 Snydale Way via a roundabout. While both options may be approved, Peel said that only one would be built.
• Straightening out Park Avenue. The avenue will be the main road through the development. Straightening it out will allow a smoother flow of traffic, according to Peel. That change has led to other minor amendments to the design of the Academy golf course and residential areas.
• Retaining Dearden’s Farm buildings. The structures will be converted into a village hall.
• Improving off-site footpaths. Peel said that it will improve the footpaths between Westhoughton and Daisy Hill station, Atherton and Hag Fold station, and at Cutacre Country Park to enhance the connections to Hulton Park.
• Including outdoor sports facilities. Peel said that these will be provided either on or off site.
• Reducing the number of lodges on the golf course. The number of lodges has been cut from 20 to 18.
• Keeping the Pretoria Memorial route. The route through Park End Farm will be retained, which has led Peel to make changes to the residential layout of Hulton Park.
• Reducing the size of the restaurant. The restaurant has been shrunk from 9 metres in height to 8.2 metres in order to retain the “emphasis of the original building”, according to Peel.

“Peel L&P remains committed to engaging with the local community regarding the plans and welcomes any further feedback on the amendments outlined above,” the company said in a press release. “Bolton Council will also be undertaking its own consultation with relevant statutory consultees ahead of determining the planning application in due course.”

The project team for Hulton Park includes architects Parkinson Inc on the masterplan and LUC on the landscape. European Golf Design designed the golf course. Hope Architects crafted the residential schemes. Leach Rhodes Walker designed the hotel clubhouse. Frank Whittle Partnerships designed the community facilities. Falconer Chester Hall designed the main hotel area and Chequerbent Barns.