Bolton: Ladybridge family assessment centre plan withdrawn

The proposal would have seen a house on Glendale Drive, Ladybridge converted into a hub providing 24-hour support for ‘vulnerable’ parents and their children.

But after an outcry from people living in the area the contentious plans have now been withdrawn.

Cllr Andy Morgan, who represents the area on Bolton Council, said: “The democratic process has taken its course and hopefully the applicants have now seen sense.

Glendale Drive, Ladybridge (Image: Google Maps)

“We’re really pleased about it and hopefully the residents are pleased as well.”

Cllr Morgan along with his ward colleague Cllr Anne Galloway and Bolton West MP Chris Green had attended a packed meeting last month at the Beaumont Arms Pub where Ladybridge residents had aired their concerns.

Many of the people in attendance expressed concerns about the strain it would put on infrastructure, transport and the pressure on nearby schools.

As part of their application, the developers had said that they would maintain a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards drugs and alcohol and that they would expect parents to sign up to a code of conduct.

The centre, which would have provided support to parents who may otherwise have had their children taken into care, would also have been monitored by CCTV and would have been regulated by Ofsted.

But people had still expressed worries about the possibility of anti-social behaviour being drawn to an area which is classed as  one of the most desirable in the borough.

The proposal had been to convert a house into a 24-hour family assessment (Image: YA Architectural Services)

Cllr Morgan said: “It was just about the unsuitability of the area, the fact that there’s a lot of older residents in Ladybridge and that its not a facility that we as a council would ever use.”

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The plan had been set to go before the planning committee for debate at Bolton Council in the months ahead but now, after the deadline for representations was extended, the applicants behind the scheme have now withdrawn.

Resident John Fiddies, who helped to organise the public meeting said he was relieved to hear this.

He said: “That’s absolutely fantastic news, if that’s the case that they’ve withdrawn the application then that’s fantastic.”