A NEW housing development which has been in the pipeline for five years is finally seeing progress. Local Democracy Reporter JOSEPH TIMAN looks at the latest plans.

THE biggest phase of plans to build 150 houses at a former farm in Westhoughton have been revealed.

A planning application for 131 dwellings at Roscoe’s Farm has been submitted to Bolton Council.

This comes as developer Northstone ploughs ahead on the housing development which has stalled for years.

The firm, which is part of Peel L&P, got the green light for the first phase of construction earlier this month

It has already started working on the first 19 houses at the site which are scheduled to be completed and ready for people to move by October 2020, according to the latest application.

It said: “Northstone’s commitment to the delivery of this site can be seen through recent activity.

“Northstone have made all the necessary steps to finally deliver this key site, above and beyond any progress previously made on the site prior to Northstone’s involvement.”

The latest plans feature a mixture of house sizes designed with younger families in mind as well as those looking to “up-size”.

Half of the homes would be three-bedroom houses, a quarter would be two-bedroom houses and the rest would have four bedrooms.

This meets the needs of the area which has been identified to require more smaller homes, according to the application.

All of the properties proposed would have two parking spaces with driveways included with most homes.

The properties would be constructed using two core brick styles of orange and yellow finish.

The scheme was put together by Northstone’s design director Richard O’Brien.

He said: “The creativity and thoughtfulness we bring to our design is unique. Our places and homes enhance how comfortably, smartly and responsibly people and communities can live and flourish for generation.”

The North-West based developer aims to provide a balanced housing mix, quality landscaping and a “high-quality” community with a focus on “place and home”, according to the design and access statement.

Northstone also promises to equip homes with technology that will facilitate low-carbon lifestyles.

Energy efficiency measures include air tightness and effective heating controls.

It said: “The energy strategy adopted ensures the proposed development will be developed with the aim to reduce annual energy consumption, whilst providing energy in the most environmentally friendly way to reduce the annual CO₂ footprints.”

Approximately 160 new jobs would be created in the construction industry should the plans be approved, with a further 121 roles in the supply chain, according to the developer.

Councillors on the planning committee will ultimately decide the outcome of this application.

The farm was earmarked as a future housing development in 2014.

It is featured in the Bolton Development Plan with 170 units allocated for the site.

A full planning application for 106 homes was submitted in February 2015.

Planning permission for the new homes at this site was granted to Jones Homes in May 2016.

Another application was also submitted for 128 dwellings by Miller Homes and Peel L&P in December 2018, but this remains undetermined.

Northstone, part of the Peel L&P, purchased the site and preparatory construction works have now begun on-site.

Ground was broken on the site at the beginning of May, just before the planning permission expired, commencing foundations.

A planning application to replace 19 of the proposed Jones Homes properties located closest to Bolton Road was approved in July.

These houses are expected to be completed by around April 2020.

Northstone has now submitted a detailed planning application for the rest of the site which will see Jones Homes’ plans replaced in full.

The second phase of Northstone's plans, featuring 131 houses, were submitted to Bolton Council earlier this month.

This will take the total number of houses proposed at the site to 150.