2 weeks Ago
A block of flats could be built on a car park after previously rejected plans were scaled back. Earlier this year proposals for 26 studio apartments on the plot at the junction of Chorley Old Road and New Barn Street were thrown out by Bolton Council. The March decision stated the plans ‘failed to respect and acknowledge the character’ of the area in terms of design, siting, size and scale and would ‘impact detrimentally on the outlook, privacy and living conditions of neighbouring residents’.
Now applicant Three Sisters Investments has filed a second plan which intends to build 12 one-bedroom flats within four buildings on the site. A design and access statement in support of the plans, said: “The site is vacant and in its current form detracts from the character and appearance of the area, due to its poor visual state. The number of studio apartments has been significantly reduced from the previously proposed number of 26.
“The proposed buildings form one row and are all three storeys in height. The scheme has been designed to create the appearance of four town-houses, to assimilate well within the existing street scene. “Each floor contains four studio apartments.
The development would provide new housing in a sustainable location and would make efficient use of an underutilised brownfield site in the urban area.” The area was previously used for car sales and is currently an informal car park. The report addresses parking, which was one of the reasons given for the previous refusal of housing plans at the site.
There are nine parking bays included in the plans. The report, said: “ Chorley Old Road and the surrounding residential streets are characterised by terraced properties with little or no dedicated off-road parking provision. Rather, parking is generally on-street.
“The level of demand for car parking is likely to be very low, given that all 12 studio flats are to contain one bedroom each. “Any additional demand generated would not adversely affect highway safety, particularly given the level of off-road parking available on Chorley Old Road and in the surrounding area.” Bolton Council will make a decision on the plans in the coming weeks.
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