Barrow Bridge residents asking for PVC windows to be allowed

Barrow Bridge village is a conservation area with many of the houses there being listed properties. 

As a part of heritage status, only wooden windows and doors are allowed on residents' homes. 

However, councillors are currently discussing the idea of allowing higher grade PVC windows on the buildings. 

This comes after residents raised issues about the wooden fittings rotting due to moisture and needing to be replaced more regularly, though some say they would prefer to keep it the old way. 

Ward councillor Roger Hayes said: "We are looking at relaxing the standards for replacing windows and doors in Barrow Bridge. 

"Barrow Bridge is a conservation area and the buildings are listed. The people who live there are not exactly wealthy, and wooden windows rot quite quickly as the stone retains the moisture, and Bolton does have quite a bit of that. 

"People are finding the windows can last only four to five years. In some areas, like at Barrowdene House, the windows are huge, with some requiring scaffolding to access. 

Looking down Bazley Street in Barrow Bridge (Image: Newsquest)

"It previously split opinion but the new PVC windows do look quite good.

"My own view is they should relax it as long as it still looks acceptable." 

Cllr Garry Veevers said: "I see no problem whatsoever if it doesn't damage the look and feel of the area. 

"They have got to fit in and look right, if it is more functional for residents I am all for it." 

Cllrs Hayes and Veevers say that the idea is currently being discussed at council policy groups. 

Residents of the estate have shared their opinions about the debate. 

Resident Albert Wright said: "Personally, I would like it. We have got old wooden windows that are now rotting. 

"Our house is freezing, all of the heat escapes through the back door. It would help keep the houses warmer and we wouldn't have to replace as often.

"Some people have spent over £10,000 doing all their windows." 

Barrowdene House, which has particularly large windows (Image: Newsquest)

Resident Rebecca Clarkson said: "We don't live in the Beamish Museum, we live in old buildings, but in the modern era. 

"It is very hard to source things like gutters and windows, so why shouldn't they let residents have wooden windows and doors in PVC, in keeping with it. 

"Our windows are very old, 100 years old, but the costs are almost prohibitive if you have to do them all. 

"PVC would cost half of that, and wood rots more quickly. I would say it is a human rights issue." 

She added: "The statute on gutters and things is to do with heritage rules, but if the council can override them, then it is time they did." 

Mary Shaw said: "They are a fortune, the wooden ones. I dread to think how much mine would cost, it would be a lot of money. 

"A house on Fifth Street had theirs renewed, you can't tell, they look perfectly alright, the PVC is very good these days. 

"The upkeep of these houses cost a lot, and I only moved from the other side of Moss Bank Park, but the difference in the cold is amazing." 

Andrew Shaw said: "I have been quoted £1,500 to £2,000 for a single sash window, and then one neighbour paid £140 for each window to be painted, for six windows that is an expensive job. 

Resident, Mary Shaw (Image: Newsquest)

"One house on Fifth Street had PVC windows approved, but my neighbour had his planning application rejected." 

Christine Barlow, a resident of Barrowdene House, which has larger windows, said: "I think we should be able to put PVC in, both for the environment and because of cost, especially with everything costing more money.

"They look very different these days, they have come on leaps and bounds. The people who object don't have to pay my bills. 

"Upstairs they have to have scaffolding and it is an awful lot of money. I have to have them painted every year to maintain them." 

However, one resident was not in favour of PVC.

She said: "I think people move here knowing it is a conservation area, wood is the only way forward. 

"The cost benefits of PVC would make a difference, but a lot of people are opposed to plastic." 

Another resident said: "You can't put PVC doors in, but what's wrong with putting PVC in if it looks like wood. 

"I have a front door which I don't use, it just causes more draughts." 

One other resident said: "With a lot of these windows, you can't tell the difference between wood and plastic.

"They keep going on about sash and cord windows, but they weren't originally sash and cord. 

"If we got the all clear, I think 90 per cent of them would be plastic."