AN INQUIRY into Bolton Council’s decision to order five luxury homes to be torn down has been cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The four-day public event an appeal by the owners of the properties in Grundy Fold Farm, which was due to take place at Bolton Town Hall next week, will no longer be taking place.

Case officer Paul Eland wrote to Bolton Council today to inform the local authority of the planning inspectorate’s decision.

He said: “Following the Government announcement on Monday regarding stopping non essential travel and contact, we unfortunately have made the decision to cancel the Inquiry due to take place on 24 March 2020. This is in the best interests of both our staff and the wider public.”

The Grundy Fold Home Owners association offered to knock down their mansions at a cost of more than a million pounds but councillors reject their proposal.

The revised Grundy Fold Farm plans involved demolishing and rebuilding two properties and reducing the size of another but were refused by the planning committee in August.

The compromise, which was offered after Bolton Council ordered all five luxury homes to be demolished, had received the approval of town hall planners but councillors did not agree.

It comes after a long-running battle with the council over plot size and location. But councillors on the planning committee decided that the houses were still too big and too far apart from each other.

A public inquiry into an enforcement notice to demolish the entire development was due to take place on March 24.

A new date for the inquiry will be arranged shortly.