The biggest pub company in the UK is bidding to build up to four homes in the car park of one of its pubs in Westhoughton.

Stonegate Group applied for outline planning permission for the site at the rear of the White Horse at the end of last year.

Formed in 2010, it is the biggest pub company in the UK after the acquisition of big brands including Slug & Lettuce and Yates and this is one of more than 4,000 pubs it owns across the country.

The Bolton News: The car park

It is bidding to build up to four homes in the car park close to the junction of Bolton Road and Manchester Road, a junction which was identified in the past as a problem due to the level of traffic.

The homes are to be accessed from Bolton Road and the car park, which would be retained with 36 spaces and which would be separated off with a fence, is to be accessed from Manchester Road as it is today.

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The application said: "The proposal represents an 'infill' development within the urban area of the sustainable settlement of Westhoughton with the site being in walking distance to a wide range of services. 

"The small size of the site ensures there will be negligible impacts on local amenities and local services as well as the highways network.

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"The site makes the most effective use of land by bringing back an underutilised piece of hardstanding land to a viable use. This therefore means there are no adverse impacts to the existing use of the site.

"Ultimately, the site is identified as being in a sustainable location in the adopted Development Plan, considered a suitable location in the National Planning Policy Framework, and it has no adverse impacts."

The application is for outline planning permission so the details such as the appearance of the homes are to be determined.

A consultation is open on the Bolton Council planning portal and the deadline for a decision by Bolton Council is in March.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.