PINS clears Burnley wedding venue
Rejected by the local council, the redevelopment of Manley House is back on after a Planning Inspectorate decision ruled in favour of applicant Proimage.
The plans for a 200-capacity venue were put forward in 2023 by Proimage, working with planner PWA and Dickinson Waugh Architecture.
The professional team also includes Rachel Hacking Ecology, TPM Landscape, LK Consult, Ashley Helme and ADC Acoustics.
Proimage’s project involves the conversion of a single large dwelling, Manley House on Burnley Road, Hapton, into a wedding venue, with letting rooms.
The main new element to be introduced would be a single-storey structure with retractable roof, in the recessed courtyard, which planning documents said would not be visible from the public realm.
PWA had set out in its planning statement that “the applicant has identified a significant need for venues of this nature, given the current lack of choice and quality within Burnley and nearby Hyndburn, with much local trade currently lost to locations within the Ribble Valley.
“The proposals will require an investment of approximately £1.1m into the building and it is also anticipated that 20 to 25 new jobs will be created, with roles ranging from management, and bookings to kitchen and bar staff.”
These plans were greeted with some hostility from a local residents group, leading with the argument that a change of use from a single home to a venue requiring 100 parking spaces (albeit 46 of these would be an ‘overflow’ area) would represent a substantial change for the area.
The decision notice as issued in May 2025 refused permission on seven grounds. But by the time the matter was examined by a planning inspector, the council had said it would no longer defend on two of the grounds – flood risk and coal mining risk – anlong with part of a third reason, highway safety. It also agreed that its concerns over ecology had been dealt with.
That left three reasons: whether the location is suitable, whether the proposal would negatively impact the setting, and its effect on green infrastructure.
Addressing the location, the council’s judgment was that wedding venues are a town centre use, a position the inspector disagreed with. The location is a short distance from a junction of the Accrington bypass
As to the venue’s impact, the inspector ruled that its intermittent use would only have a limited adverse effect, particularly after proposed planting grows out.
On green infrastructure, Burnley had honed in a policy on the local plan referring to “seeking to retain and enhance the multifunctional green infrastructure in the borough”, specifically corridor greening along Burnley Road – at the hearing though, the council was, in the words of the inspector, “unable to identify which single green infrastructure function the appeal site corridor supported”.
Victory, then, for Primage and PWA. Lydia Gallagher, planner at PWA, said: “This was a fiercely contested application, and we are happy with the outcome for our client. Overcoming several reasons for refusal and navigating intense local opposition required a detailed, evidence-led strategy.
“The inspector’s decision not only provides incredibly useful clarity on the planning treatment of wedding venues in countryside locations, but it proves that well-designed rural diversification projects can absolutely succeed when backed by the right evidence.”
All documents relating to the project can be found on Burnley Council’s planning portal under the reference for the original application, reference FUL/2023/0153.
