Peel to appeal Hulton Park refusal

The company is refusing to give up on its £240m plans to build more than a thousand homes, a Ryder Cup-standard golf course, primary school, conference centre and hotel on the historic estate.

Bolton Council rejected Peel L&P’s scheme in February, citing the impact the project would have on the Green Belt and the surrounding landscape.

The decision had been met with frustration from Peel, who had secured planning permission for an earlier version of the project from the secretary of state in 2020. The newer version had reduced the number of homes, added more community spaces, improved transport links and sought to shrink the impact on the Green Belt.

The newer version of the Hulton Park project had been recommended for approval by planning officers. Despite that, all but one planning committee member voted against the application.

“Bolton has quite possibly missed out on the biggest investment in its history,” said Richard Knight, director of planning and strategy at Peel L&P, at the time.

Peel has said that its plans for Hulton Park are dependent on securing the rights to host the Ryder Cup in 2031 or 2035.

The park is one of two sites shortlisted as a potential venue for the event.

CGI showing the proposed houses at Hulton Park. Credit: via Peel L&P

Regarding the decision to appeal, Knight said the company was “committed to securing support for the development as we know the extent of the benefits it will bring to Bolton and the North West”.

He continued: “These include better housing choices, more jobs, improved transport, new health and wellbeing facilities and a golfing academy for the entire community.

“It is an ambitious scheme but one that Bolton deserves and needs,” Knight said. “We want local people to be proud of what their town can achieve and get behind these revised plans as opportunities like this do not come along every day and the benefits will last a lifetime.”

Should Peel win at appeal, but not secure the Ryder Cup spot the company has said it would need to develop a new strategy for redeveloping Hulton Park.

“We don’t know exactly what that would look like, or whether such alternatives would preserve 80% of the site as open land, as the revised proposals do, but clearly by not securing the Ryder Cup legacy, the wider social and economic benefits would likely be far less,” Knight said.