Project Overview
Bell Cornwell has successfully obtained planning permission for the use of an abandoned stretch of former public highway as an employees’ car park next to an industrial unit in Bolton, Lancashire.
Our client – Howorth Westbury Properties Ltd – acquired a long-vacant and neglected parcel of land adjacent to their factory from Bolton Council with the intention of using it as additional secure employees’ car parking. However, they subsequently discovered that not only was planning permission required for the new hard-surfacing and change of use, but also that the historic public right of way that ran across the site had to be formally extinguished the before the new car park could be constructed and brought into use.
Working in conjunction with Russell Giles Partnership, Transport Planning Consultants, we submitted a planning application for the change of use and the associated construction work to create a 29-space car park. Once that planning application had been validated by Bolton Council, a linked application for a highways Stopping Up Order – made under Section 253 of the Town & Country Planning Act, 1990 – was submitted by Russell Giles Partnership to the Department for Transport’s National Casework Team, based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Full planning permission was granted by Bolton Council in June and the Stopping Up Order was confirmed in late August, having been unopposed during a mandatory 6-week High Court challenge period, following an initial approval given by the DfT in July.
This project showed the value of being aware of and understanding the current procedures relating to Stopping Up Orders under both planning and highway legislation, plus our willingness to consult and work with like-minded professionals, such as Russel Giles Partnership, to successfully resolve unusual planning issues for our clients.
