Plans for a £414 million scheme to build a course for one of golf’s most prestigious events in Bolton have been rejected.
The plans – which were drawn up in current form by developers Peel L&P back in 2018, but have been in the works for longer and have been the subject of much local controversy ever since – proposed that a “championship-grade” golf course would be built on the historic Hulton Park site to become a host destination for 2031 Ryder Cup.
As well as the golf course, the wider Hulton Park development looked to become a community hub and was proposed to include a total of 1,036 homes, a primary school, short stay holiday accommodation, a hotel, conference centre, and a village hall.
But all except once Councillor voted against the plans yesterday.
Bolton Council were said to have refused plans for the development expressing concerns around the environment, the impact on green belt land, congestion, and the quality of jobs in the area, while opposition campaigners called it a “housing project in golf clothing”.
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Dozens of objections were received by the Council since the plans were first submitted.
Over the course of the three hour meeting yesterday, the committee heard from both supporters and opponents of the plan.
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“The golf course devastates a large area of land and brings a thousands plus house and some of the issues if they’re not dealt with at planning level brings more problems to us as Westhoughton people,” said Cllr David Wilkinson, who represents Westhoughton South.
“I’m sorry it’s a vanity project,” he added.
Independent Cllr Martin McMulkin said the plan “is not going to address the levels of deprivation in that part of the borough”, and added that golf is “not and never will be a sport of the working class.”
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Cllr Martyn Cox – Leader of Bolton Council – said the plans would “too impactful” on greenspace, while Labour leader Nick Peel said that the council’s lack of “corporate” support for a Ryder Cup bid also undermined the proposal.
Local campaigners against the plans – which notably included Westhoughton-born actress Maxine Peake – also told the planning committee meeting the development would cause significant environmental damage, with protester Phil Wood claiming once the Ryder Cup was over, the developer would build more houses on the land.
Historian Elaine Taylor too urging councillors to preserve the Grade II-listed Georgian park and its surrounding landscape.
On the flip side, speaking in favour of the development, CBI North West’s Damian Waters said it represented a “once-in a generation opportunity to transform the Bolton economy”, and the University of Bolton’s president Prof George Holmes said it would bring “prosperity to the town and much-needed national and international attention”.
The planning committee also heard from former Ladies European Tour golfer Sophie Walker, who said watching the Ryder Cup in Paris had been the “best sporting experience” of her life, and bringing it to Bolton would “inspire” people to play golf.
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All except once Councillor voted against the plans yesterday / Credit: Peel L&P
Following the rejection of the proposals, Richard Knight – Director of Planning and Strategy at Peel L&P – said Bolton has “quite possibly missed out on the biggest investment in its history”.
He continued: “Bolton Council had approved the previous scheme and encouraged us to make positive changes, but it has done a U-turn at the last hurdle [and] it is hard to comprehend.
“Evidently, very localised opposition has taken priority over the potential benefits for Bolton.
“Since 2018, we have worked hard with local residents and stakeholders in order to adapt our proposals to reflect the community’s aspirations for the site with less homes on greenbelt land and a range of facilities including a new school, health and wellbeing hub public trails and transport improvements.”
Peel L&P now has a right to appeal the decision.
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The developer’s appealing of the decision could lead to a public inquiry, with the final say on the project being left to the secretary of state – however, a decision on the host for the 2031 Ryder Cup is expected in July.
Featured Image – Peel L&P
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Manchester’s iconic inflatable monsters are set to invade the city centre again this Halloween
Emily Sergeant
Dozens of huge inflatable monsters are set to invade Manchester next month, as Halloween returns to the city for 2024.
Yes, it’s that time of year yet again… the monsters are back.
After several years of looming over Manchester‘s most-notable rooftops and lurking around famous city centre sites, it’s been revealed that the iconic MCR Monsters will be returning for another year of spooky celebrations next month, along with loads of other terrifying tricks and treats – with something for the whole family to get involved with.
Organisers CityCo and Manchester BID are gearing up to “roll out the blood-red carpet” for its legendary and monstrous guests in a couple of weeks time.
This year’s annual Halloween in the City celebrations will kick off with a week-long colourful invasion of the MCR Monsters, before being followed by a two-day family festival across the city’s popular shopping destinations.
Halloween is returning to the city for loads of spooky celebrations next month / Credit: CityCo (via Supplied)
Crawling their way back into the city from Friday 25 October through to Halloween itself on Thursday 31 October, the epic MCR Monsters inflatable art trail – which is created by artists Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas – will be taking over leading locations like Manchester Arndale, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Corn Exchange, and New Century, with many more sites set to be announced soon.
A brand-new monster called ‘The Leech’ will be heading to town to join to celebrations this year, alongside some other spookily-similar faces from years’ past.
Buildings across the city will also be turning a ghoulish green once the night falls, while you can also expect to see thousands of little pumpkin lanterns adorning the city’s streets once again.
There’ll be something for all the family to / Credit: CityCo (via Supplied)
Some of the other fan-favourite events on the jam-packed Halloween in the City lineup confirmed to be returning this year are the ‘Monsters Rock! Music Festival’, with spooky live bands and DJs, as well as gruesome games and competitions, the popular ‘Team Trick v Team Treat’ fancy dress challenge, and the hair-raising monster procession ‘Rock! Party Procession’ – which will feature giant puppet monsters, stilt walkers, and a live band marching their way through Manchester Arndale and on Market Street.
Thousands of families are expected to come into the city centre dressed in their scariest costumes over Halloween weekend on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 October.
Jane Sharrocks, who is the Chair of Manchester BID, said Manchester is set to transform into the “ultimate Halloween playground” this year, and that organisers are planning 2024 to be the “most thrilling year yet”.
“As the first UK city to host these incredible creatures, Manchester has become the ultimate Halloween destination,” Jane added.
Halloween in the City officially returns to Manchester on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 October, with the monsters descending from Friday 25 October and the pumpkins potentially even earlier, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled.
Featured Image – CityCo (via Supplied)
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‘Life-changing’ scheme helps house hundreds of Greater Manchester’s homeless people
Emily Sergeant
Hundreds of homeless people in Manchester have now been helped “get back on their feet” thanks to a successful pilot housing scheme.
Greater Manchester’s ‘Housing First’ pilot scheme was rolled out in 2019.
The scheme is all about recognising that “a good home has to be the first step to a good life”, according to Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), and since it was first introduced, it has primarily been helping people with chronic and long-standing experiences of homelessness into homes of their own, without preconditions.
Ongoing personalised wraparound support to manage issues, ranging from mental health problems to substance misuse, is also a key part of what the scheme’s all about.
Since 2019, the scheme then has helped a total of 413 people find “good, safe homes”, GMCA has revealed.
Around 75% of those housed have also sustained their tenancies too, with some even going on to form part of Housing First’s co-production panel – sharing their experiences, and making sure that the service continues to meet people’s needs.
Giving everyone a good, safe home is one of the best investments this country can make.
That’s why we want to take the lessons of our @GMHousingFirst pilot & follow @FinlandInUK by adopting it as our philosophy in Greater Manchester.
Because of the clear success of the pilot in our region, Greater Manchester and Mayor Andy Burnham are now calling on the Government to take the lessons learned from the scheme and embed them into a new approach to tackle the housing crisis nationwide.
Andy Burnham says he believes that giving everyone a good, safe home would be “one of the best investments the country could make”, as it would “take pressure off” other public services and public finances, and declared that our region is ready to follow in Finland’s footsteps by becoming the first UK city-region to adopt the ‘Housing First’ philosophy permenantly.
“The evidence is clear that it works, and when a pilot scheme gets results it shouldn’t end there – it should become the new normal,” Mr Burnham said.
A ‘life-changing’ scheme has helped house hundreds of Greater Manchester’s homeless people / Credit: Manchester City Council
“Housing First has shown that if you give people an unconditional right to safe and secure housing, backed up with personalised support, you set them up to succeed, so instead of winding it down, we should be scaling it up and turning it into a national mission.
“We’re starting that here in Greater Manchester.
“We’re bringing in new protections for renters, tackling bad landlords, and with the right powers and funding, we can deliver 75,000 new homes in this parliament.
“Our new Housing First Unit will drive this work forward, bringing together partners across our city-region with a clear goal – a healthy home for everyone in Greater Manchester by 2038.”