Bolton: Homes plan on ex-Eden Boys School site approved

The plan will see a total of 27 homes built on what was once housed Eden Boys School off Cotton Street in Halliwell.

A town hall meeting heard how this will also include plans to plant new trees on the site and to try to reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 60 per cent.

Cllr Kevin Morris, who represents Halliwell, said: “I welcome the application by Great Places Housing Group.

"I'm happy to support the planning application on this particular site."

He added: “Its absolutely fantastic to see a developer fully embracing ESG with emission reductions of 50 per cent above the council's target, its good to see and I fully support this planning application."

A total of 27 new homes have been proposed (Image: CWPA)

“I’m happy to support this application.”

The area in Halliwell has previously been used as the Falcon View Learning Disability Service Centre but was more recently adapted as the temporary site of the Eden Boys School.

The school has since moved to a campus on Wolfenden Street leaving the Cotton Street site empty.

Since then trees and greenery had grown on the site, which the housing plans had aimed to preserve.

All the new homes have been classed as affordable (Image: CWPA)

The area is surrounded by traditional style terraced housing on three sides at Rushey Fold Lane, Halliwell Road and Olga Street.

On the other side is Nut Street to the east, where there are some small scale garages, two houses and an electricity substation.

Cotton Street, Halliwell (Image: Google Maps)

There is more traditional terraced housing on Wordsworth Street, which forms part of the eastern boundary.

The committee members heard how demand was already high for housing in the Halliwell area and that all 27 of the proposed homes were classed as “affordable.”

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Although the development will involve removing nine of the 14 trees from the site, it will also see 20 new trees planted making a net gain.

Bolton Council officers described the scheme as “well designed” and “sustainable.”

They told the committee that the new houses would also be designed to ensure that they “reflect the character and appearance of the area.”

The committee members decided to go along with their officers’ recommendations and unanimously voted to delegate the scheme back to Bolton Council’s director of place for approval.