These are all the significant planning application put before councils across Greater Manchester recently
Crompton Place has been in the centre of Bolton since 1971 (Pic – Chapman Taylor)(Image: Chapman Taylor)
A huge redevelopment in one town centre is one of many significant plans tabled with councils across Greater Manchester this week.
In Bolton, Crompton Place has been a mainstay for decades, but soon it could make way for change. It was opened as an Arndale Centre in 1971 before being renamed in 1989 after the Bolton-born industrialist Samuel Crompton, inventor of the cotton spinning mule.
The council is set to demolish the centre after buying it in 2018 and converting it into a mixture of homes, shops, office space and a hotel.
Pending planning approval later this year, demolition is expected to take 50 weeks and be completed in a single phase.
Here is a breakdown of each borough’s submitted planning applications this week
Bolton
The redevelopment of the Crompton Place Shopping Centre area includes linking Victoria Square to Bradshawgate
It dominated a town centre for 50 years – now there’s a plan to bring it back to life
A search has begun for a development partner to lead the flagship redevelopment of Crompton Place in the heart of Bolton.
The council said the project will deliver a ‘vibrant, residential-led mixed use development including hotel, office and commercial space’. The authority said the new development would be ‘surrounded by the town’s rich heritage assets, vibrant amenities and excellent transport links’.
In a process that is expected to take around a year from the publication of the tender notice to contract signature, the successful bidder will also be expected to improve public spaces and re-introduce a direct pedestrian route between Victoria Square and Bradshawgate.
Some residents and campaigners see HMOs as having a negative impact on communities (Image: 2023 Getty Images)
Tough new rules to control number of new shared homes in town – after 600 created in four years
Bolton council has agreed new rules to control the number of homes being converted into rental properties for multiple tenants. In 2021, the borough had 117 houses of multiple occupation (HMOS), but by the end of last year there were 720.
The town hall has now put in place an ‘article four’ direction, restricting the development of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in Bolton with immediate effect.
A HMO is a property rented by three or more tenants using shared communal areas such as kitchens, bathrooms and toilets. Since 2010, the conversion of a house into a HMO for up to six residents has been classed as a permitted development.
That means that planning permission is not required to undertake conversions and the town hall has no control over the process.
Manchester
Wilmslow roads ‘Curry Mile’ (Image: Manchester Evening News)
New supermarket ‘would cause chaos’ on one of Manchester’s busiest roads, campaigners claim
A new supermarket would ‘cause chaos’ on ‘one of Manchester’s busiest high streets’, a pro-cycling group has warned.
Lidl hopes to open a new store on Wilmslow Road, on a former bus depot site opposite Platt Fields Park. The shop will create 40 jobs, according to Lidl, which says it selected the spot next to Curry Mile because of the number of potential customers within a five-minute drive.
But cycling and walking campaigners have hit out at the proposed design, which features 91 car parking spaces and silver cladding.
Lidl said ‘the proposed new store, and the overall site, will have a clean and contemporary design’ in its planning application.
Oldham
A CGI of the street view of the new building, which will feature six shop units. (Image: Footprint Designs)
The 11-storey tower on site where Beatles gigged which will soon mark the entrance to Oldham
An eleven-storey tower could soon mark the entrance to the centre of Oldham.
Plans for an eleven, nine and six storey building on the former site of Riley’s Snooker Club on King Street were approved by planners this week.
Designed by Footprint Architects, the 120 apartments will overlook the town’s major junction with Union Street and become a ‘waymarker’ for those approaching the nearby Oldham King Street tram stop.
Rochdale
CGI of how the new Hopwood Hall College building in Rochdale could look(Image: Hopwood Hall College)
New images show how a transformed Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale could look
Hopwood Hall College is set to have a huge campus overhaul after revealing plans to replace a teaching block.
If approved, the new teaching block on the Rochdale campus would be four-storeys high and accommodate between 800-900 students and staff. Once open, the building overlooking St Marys Gate will provide new classrooms, studios, laboratories, workshops, catering school and other teaching facilities alongside a lecture hall, staff facilities and new main college entrance.
It would cater for a range of subjects for 16-19 year olds such as art & design, catering, T-Levels, film design and provision of Higher Education teaching facilities.
Stockport
A map of a proposed development at Moor Lane in Stockport. Image from Stockport council planning documents. Uploaded by local democracy reporter Declan Carey.
The ‘obvious’ spot for 125 new homes in Stockport
Plans have been shared to build 125 new homes in part of Stockport. Miller Homes is hoping to build the properties on a piece of land located off Moor Lane in Woodford.
Planning reports sent to Stockport council say the area is currently used for farming and is an ‘obvious location’ for this type of development. It states that the area is a “sustainable location, close to a range of services and facilities”.
It adds: “Bramhall Local Centre is approximately 1.3km to the north which offers a range of services and facilities, including restaurants, banks, convenience stores, cafés, post offices and a supermarket.
Trafford
Former pub is already a pilates studio – now it needs planning permission
A former pub in Altrincham town centre has become a pilates studio, but now its owners need planning permission for its changed use.
The former Downs Hotel, which has also been Nick’s Bar and Nicholsons in previous guises, on Railway Street, has been renovated, but the owner cannot find a tenant for its current designated purpose as offices.
Reformer Pilates Studio has already taken up occupancy of the building – which is in the Stamford New Road Conservation Area – in the regeneration zone known as ‘The Downs Quarter’, but planning permission for the change of use is required.
Junior football club set to hit 50th anniversary with revamped club house
A junior football club in Timperley, soon to be celebrating its 50th anniversary, wants to refurbish its ageing club house so it can host family events and children’s parties.
A planning application has been submitted by the Unicorn Athletic club at Sylvan Avenue, Smiths Field to Trafford’s planning team.
The FA two-star accredited club is run by volunteers whose coaches are qualified, all with first-aid training and enhanced DBS checks, their application says.