Refusal of Planning Permission for Development of Housing on Regents Road Golf Course in Bolton.

The solution lies in the gift of Bolton Council and GM Combined Authority to recognise that additional housebuilding will be of detriment to the interests of the local population and economic productivity.  Planning should be emphatically declined.    

Regent Road Golf Centre is the Best Pay and Play Municipal Golf Course in Bolton.

The course is currently in a designated greenbelt area forming a green gateway between the towns of Bolton and Horwich.  

It is a community facility used extensively by families, walkers, joggers, and cyclists.  The course is home to a diverse range of wildlife that would face lose their habitat including deer, birds, geese, bats, newts and aquatic invertebrates.  

The golf course and surrounding green belt is a giant soakaway for rainwater coming off the hills and surrounding developments the loss of which would likely result in further flooding downstream.  Notably affecting residents of Lostock whom are struggling with the repeated flooding of Middlebrook and Bessy Brook streams.  Additional development will only make matters considerably worse. 

Local infrastructure is already under severe pressure and with additional developments planned or applied for, the area is already struggling to cope with peak time traffic movements.  This is affecting the local economy and residents health and wellbeing.  It is also affecting the underlying viability of travelling into other surrounding areas of Greater Manchester to do business.  In the mornings, traffic jam queueing commences at Junction 4 of the M61. 

As a commuter area and despite electrification, train services are inadequate to cope with current demand. 

Commuting can only get considerably worse.  

There are also insufficient local schools and other facilities to cope with additional housebuilding.