Scheme to turn Bolton's Star and Garter pub into HMO back on

This comes just months after a similar bid to transform the Star and Garter on Bow Street into a 13 bedroom “house in multiple occupation”, or "HMO", was refused by Bolton Council.

At the time concerns were raised about the space that would have been available for people living there.

Planning committee chair Cllr John Walsh said: “I’m delighted that the previous application was refused.

“We have got, in that part of the town, far too many HMOs and we need to improve the standards of communal areas and living space within dwellings.”

The pub could be set to turned into an 11 bedroom shared house (Image: RA Design & Project Management Ltd)

Cllr Walsh said that the new blueprint for development across Greater Manchester, dubbed Places For Everyone, had helped define clear standards for housing in plans like these.

He said: “I am pleased that Places For Everyone has now given us some specific standards as a planning authority around space within dwellings.”

He added: “What people have got to understand is that we are not living in the 1850s, the 1860s or the 1870s, we are living in 2024 and if we don’t curtail the decline in our housing standards then that is a dereliction of duty as a society.”

The previous bid had been rejected in February this year over concerns about the apparent lack of living space per person and the fact that the site is found inside a conservation area.

But the latest version of the plans has reduced the proposed bedrooms from 13 to 11.

The developers say that they also have taken the concerns about living space on board by including a rooftop garden in the plans.

A statement from RA Design & Project Management Ltd said: “The proposals, subject of this current application, have been revised and the number of rooms reduced by a total of two.

“As such the majority of the now proposed 11 bedrooms and communal rooms have increased in size and a lounge area provided to the second floor.

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“The property itself is large and can readily accommodate the scale of development proposed.

It added: “Furthermore, the site is existing and as such is constrained by its size and form.

“Given the town centre context and adequate size and layout of the rooms, together with the need to make more efficient use of land in a town centre, the impact on the living conditions of future occupants is considered to be acceptable.”

Bolton Council will aim to decide whether or not to approve the scheme by Wednesday May 22 this year.