Northstone starts work on 177 Horwich homes

The housebuilder is expecting its first raft of properties off Victoria Road to be available next autumn.

Northstone, part of Peel L&P, has started enabling works at the former Horwich Golf Club site to deliver 177 homes, of which 34 will be affordable and available at both affordable and discount market rent.

The scheme will provide a mix of apartments, bungalows, family homes, and townhouses at the Bolton site, known as ‘Cynefin’.

Earthworks have begun to enable the delivery of key infrastructure, with construction of the roads and sewers set to start this month and the main access point off Victoria Road to be created before Christmas.

Chris Okey, head of pre-construction at Northstone, said: “We’ve already made great progress on the earthworks and installation of retaining walls that form the development areas where the homes will be built.

“We’ll be on-site creating the access point come Christmas and people will see the energy-efficient homes take shape by next spring – with the first plots being those next to Bond Close.”

Residents will have access to a long list of features including AI lighting and heating controls,  integrated appliances, and built-in wardrobes and sheds.

Okey said: “We’re doing everything we can to make delivery of Cynefin one of our most sustainable projects yet.

“The end result will be a high-quality community with a wide housing choice for people at different stages of their life, whether first-time buyers, those wanting to rent, or downsizers looking for a bungalow.”

Throughout construction, the existing bedrock already on site will be processed and used for construction materials, including creating drainage trenches and temporary areas of hardstanding. This means that traffic movements will be reduced, cutting carbon emissions.

Work forms the first phase of the developer’s £57m plans for the 34-acre Horwich Golf Club plot, which Peel L&P acquired in 2012.

Peel won the Planning Inspectorate’s approval for its outline plans in August 2021 to build up to 276 homes on the site, following three refusals from Bolton Council.

Northstone then received the go-ahead last September for the first two phases of the larger development, with the second phase set to provide 29 properties.

The project team includes NJL Consulting, Pegasus, E3P, Hann Tucker Associates, Sutcliffe, TEP, and TTHC.

To find out more about the plans, search for application number 13681/22 on Bolton Council’s planning portal.