3 weeks Ago
Residents have voiced frustration after planners gave the green light to build a house which has been dubbed locally as a “monstrosity”. Blackrod Town Council, which is only advisory in planning matters, objected to the application – but it was granted by Bolton Council. The house is being constructed on two formerly separate plots of land at the bottom of Chapel Street and back of Boardman Street.
Locals are worried about the size of the building, which has already started to block light coming into their gardens. Wendy Griffiths, 64, was born in Blackrod and has lived in her current house for four and a half years. Ms Griffiths, who is a finance assistant, said the decision to grant approval for the build was “ridiculous”.
People living next to the build say it's put them in the dark (Image: Wendy Griffiths) The new house is being built right next door and she says it is already blocking light into her garden. Ms Griffiths said: “It goes up to the side of my wall and then it turns and goes up to the back of my wall as well. “So I'm going to be in a square with no light – we used to have this fantastic view and now we're just going to be in the dark.
" The building has covered up the gorgeous view of Rivington (Image: Newsquest) Ms Griffiths said that the construction has already covered the “gorgeous” view of Rivington that they used to have. She said: “At the bottom of the street we had a view of Rivington that was absolutely gorgeous – we could see the pike, the reservoir, everything. “All down this street are little cottages and then there's this big monstrosity at the bottom of our gardens.
“It's just awful.” Workers have had to put up scaffolding inside the neighbouring property (Image: Newsquest) Ann Kilcoyne, 72, said the construction is causing a lot of stress for her 95-year-old mum who lives on Chapel Street. She said: “She’s lived here for 40-odd years and the distress it’s caused me and my mum is terrible.
“In all my objections, I asked for site visits, but I was ignored. “I think Bolton Council should come and look at what they’ve passed – they should liaise with the local council as well.” People living next to the build say it's put them in the dark (Image: Wendy Griffiths) Ms Kilcoyne, who is retired, said that her mum did not get a letter telling her that the plans had been submitted.
She said: “I rang up [the council] and they said ‘well, it won’t affect you’ – but houses across the street that can’t see it got a letter.” Joan Calderbank, 77, said: “We will all end up with depression and anxiety – they’ve put us in a box.” Ms Calderbank, who is retired, said: “The builders told us that it was a single storey – but also said they didn’t know which sets of plans they were working off, there were that many sets of plans.
” It was not just Chapel Street residents that objected to the plans, however, as there is another entrance to the house on Boardman Street. Residents in Carlton Close also objected because the house overlooks their estate – and plans include a rooftop terrace. Anne Fordham, 74, lives on Boardman Street and said “the whole thing has been a fiasco”.
She said she is constantly having to move her car so that workmen can get access to the building site. People living next to the build say it's put them in the dark (Image: Wendy Griffiths) Ms Fordham, who is retired, said: “I can’t comfortably sit in my house because I’m constantly waiting for someone to knock on the door and ask ‘can you move your car?’ “I tend to just go out for the day. “I had a lot of problems last year with deliveries – every morning I had to move my car – but they were telling me the day before that they were having a delivery and when they were coming.
“Now, I just don’t know when they’re coming.” The entrance to the site through Boardman Street is very narrow – but Chapel Street is even narrower. Ms Fordham said: “You can’t relax in the house – you just don’t know what’s going to happen next – you can’t sit in your garden all summer because of all the noise and dust.
“I know that can’t be helped when there’s building going on – but he said it would take 12 months “It will be 12 months on the sixth of May since this started and it’s going to go on a lot longer.” Local residents called the building a monstrosity and said it should not have been approved (Image: Newsquest) Construction workers have put up scaffolding in the next door garden – with permission from the owner – as there is not enough space on the site itself. Ms Fordham said: “They couldn’t have put that scaffolding up if he hadn’t said yes.
“If he had just put a low-level bungalow there wouldn’t be an issue – these streets are the heart of Blackrod.” She said that her family has lived in Blackrod since the 1750s – with three living on Boardman Street over the years. The most recent application for the house did not go to the planning committee because three similar planning applications had been approved before.
It was instead decided by a planning officer. Their report states that the plans do not exceed the limits for how close you can build to another building or how tall it can be. Blackrod Town councillor John Price, speaking as an individual on behalf of the residents, said: “As a local councillor, I’m not objecting to houses being built in Blackrod – what I’m objecting to is a lack of consultation with Blackrod.
“Let’s have consultation rather than confrontation.” Have a story? Get in touch at eoin.mccaul@newsquest.
co.uk He said that they asked Bolton Council for a site visit – but no one came. Cllr Price said: “If you’re looking at pieces of paper on a desktop, it’s totally different than if you come and look at it in person.
“I spoke at the planning committee and the only question I got back was ‘is Blackrod Council against any building in Blackrod? ’ “A few years ago we lost a playing field to development – we objected to that – but at the same time, we submitted two alternatives for that to be built. “It wasn’t a case of we don’t want you building, it was would you please build somewhere else? “We were totally ignored, so yes it gets very frustrating from a council point of view.” READ MORE: Grand opening for pocket park on Cheadle Square, Bolton READ MORE: Bolton Council Dentdale Close, Lostock access plan halted READ MORE: Revised plans for Aldi store at Paragon Business Park, Horwich Cllr Price said they understand that residents aren’t “entitled to a view” but that the building simply does not fit the street.
He said: “It’s going to be a lovely house – it’s just in the wrong place. “I can’t understand how planning can say that this fits in with the street scene because it’s nothing like the surrounding area.” Bolton Council and the applicant have been approached for comments about the situation.
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