Historic Coaching House could be partly demolished to make way for houses
8:57am Tuesday 10th July 2012 in News
Smithills Coaching house could be partially demolished to make way for 29 new homes.
The Grade Two listed building, which is built on greenbelt land, has been sold by its current owners and plans have now been submitted to Bolton Council to turn it into houses.
The Coaching House, which has been run as a restaurant for 46 years, will cease operations on August 27, making its 30 staff members redundant.
Mystery had surrounded the future of the building, which is the former stables of Grade One listed Smithills Hall, but The Bolton News can now reveal its owner’s plans to build houses on the land.
The Emerson Group has submitted the plans on behalf of P.E. Jones Contracts, of Alderly Edge, Cheshire. The proposals are for two apartments and two houses with two bedrooms, 12 three-bedroomed houses and 12 houses with four or more bedrooms for the site, which measures 1.28 hectares. Under the plans, the existing Coaching House will be partially demolished and altered to create eight dwellings.
Another 21 homes, with parking and landscaping, will be created on the surrounding land.
The application states the “vast majority” of the development proposed will be on existing areas of the Coaching House.
Documents associated with the application state: “Despite marketing, there appears to be no viable future for the building as a restaurant use.
“In order to secure the long-term future of the building, this application seeks to obtain planning permission to convert the Coaching House to eight dwellings together with 21 dwellings within the grounds and land associated which are enabling development necessary to fund the renovation of the building.
“This would bring the visual appearance of the building more in line with the original structure (and footprint) and would secure its long term future in a renovated state.”
Ian Greenhalgh, who was chairman of Smithills Hall and Park Trust for several years before the hall was transferred to Bolton Council in 2006, said he was “disgusted” by the proposals.
Mr Greenhalgh, aged 65, of nearby Jesmond Road, added: “I am really annoyed and I think residents will be too. It is greenbelt land and I cannot see how they can build homes on it as that is a total breach of planning regulations.
“Building 29 homes on the land will just ruin the place. It is a wonderful asset to the town and it will be destroyed. I honestly cannot believe it.”
Smithills Coaching House had planning permission to build a hotel 13 years ago.
The plans included a large two-storey extension with 26 bedrooms, as well as renovation of the existing building to add an extra three bedrooms.
Brian Tetlow, chairman of the Civic Trust, said: “Obviously it’s a shock to think there are proposals for a listed building. To propose some demolition and include residential accommodation is quite a shock.
“It’s a historic location and I think the whole application is very inappropriate. “ Cllr Roger Hayes, leader of the Liberal Democrat group and ward councillor, said: “I am very sad to see the Coaching House close. It has been in an institution in Bolton and provided around 30 people with employment.
“Reading the developer’s plans, they are claiming the only way to fund the renovation of the Coaching House is through housing. Smithills is an extremely desirable area to live in. Obviously the builders think so otherwise they would not have submitted the plans. I suspect there will be some opposition because it’s part of the greenbelt land.
Cllr Anthony Radlett, Liberal Democrat for Smithills, added: “I cannot comment on the plans because I am on the planning committee. The Coaching House certainly is an institution and it has been a big part of the Bolton social scene for many years.
“As a Coaching House it obviously has a lot of history and a change of use will be sad but that’s not a predetermination.”
No one from P.E Jones Contracts was available to comment.
Comments(47)
JIMMT COLLINS
says...
9:51am Tue 10 Jul 12
new houses/car park/office/what ever, the name of the game is to make money.
so stop bleating about it it belongs to them let them do what as thay please
tommy
says...
9:56am Tue 10 Jul 12
JIMMT COLLINS wrote:Normally, that's the stance I would take, but it's a kick in the nuts, as this is one of Bolton's major landmarks.
if the owners want to sell then its up to them.
new houses/car park/office/what ever, the name of the game is to make money.
so stop bleating about it it belongs to them let them do what as thay please
JIMMT COLLINS
says...
10:00am Tue 10 Jul 12
berushka
says...
10:13am Tue 10 Jul 12
Born in Bolton, a Smithills goer and lover for over 50 years, I am now saddened and disgusted at what those idiots in the town hall are doing.
Rememberscarborough
says...
10:14am Tue 10 Jul 12
Tim Burr
says...
10:43am Tue 10 Jul 12
Adam Cameron
says...
10:55am Tue 10 Jul 12
You have to adopt change.
It is difficult but change is a good thing.
The old is the old.
I, Ludicrous
says...
11:01am Tue 10 Jul 12
BWFC71
says...
11:23am Tue 10 Jul 12
This council is only bothered about destroying the town and its independence from Manchester!!!!
And yet silly people keep voting them into power - one day they will wake up as Mancunians and realise the error of their ways!
Nibelung
says...
12:26pm Tue 10 Jul 12
££££££££
cosmicma
says...
1:09pm Tue 10 Jul 12
it's a crying shame but to appose building plans costs money and the builders seem to have more in the coffers to fight for planning permition the your average local council are willing to spend
marco999
says...
1:10pm Tue 10 Jul 12
MMHolmes
says...
1:20pm Tue 10 Jul 12
The Bolton I grew up in 30 years ago is gone. And it ain't ever coming back. And it's all about money and greed.
We finally got our University after god knows how long trying (Oh whoopdy doo, aren't we sophisticated...?) but what have we lost over the years? Pretty much all of the character and charm that the town once had.
At least it's not being turned into another bloody mosque.
macauley
says...
1:47pm Tue 10 Jul 12
binmans wages reduced
says...
1:51pm Tue 10 Jul 12
fact- the owners can lose down if they so wish
fact- more houses are needed in this town
fact- affordable housing is in especially short supply
fact- these houses will not be affordable
maybe- these houses will be in the £400,000 to £ 800,000 price bracket
houses for bankers,tax avoiders and drug dealers.
AdeleTeresa
says...
1:55pm Tue 10 Jul 12
.com/groups/38156878
8557406/
hoboh2o
says...
1:55pm Tue 10 Jul 12
macauley
says...
2:11pm Tue 10 Jul 12
wonderer74
says...
2:12pm Tue 10 Jul 12
.com/groups/38156878
8557406/
binmans wages reduced
says...
2:20pm Tue 10 Jul 12
wonderer74 wrote:surely you can only optimistically oppose the closure of something thats in public ownership?
If anyone who opposes the plans has not already done so, they may wish to join the facebook group I created, which opposes the closure of Smithills Coaching House, and provides advice on what action can be taken to preserve it. https://www.facebook
.com/groups/38156878
8557406/
the coaching house is nothing to do with the council or government.
its a private business, so whats to be gained from putting effort into creating facebook pages opposing its closure?
nice try mate, but there is no logic or reason to your actions.
Adam Cameron
says...
3:42pm Tue 10 Jul 12
Nibelung wrote:This country is made up of immigrants
Adam Cameron wrote:Change is a good thing ?? our country has been changing for the worst and many areas are full of third world immigrants and the crime and social problems that go with them. Have some sense of our history and respect it.
In life things move on.
You have to adopt change.
It is difficult but change is a good thing.
The old is the old.
so is the rest of the world.
Nibelung
says...
4:17pm Tue 10 Jul 12
Adam Cameron wrote:England and the UK was made up of immigrants correct our neighbours Western Europeans like ourselves not economic migrants from the third world.
Nibelung wrote:This country is made up of immigrants
Adam Cameron wrote:Change is a good thing ?? our country has been changing for the worst and many areas are full of third world immigrants and the crime and social problems that go with them. Have some sense of our history and respect it.
In life things move on.
You have to adopt change.
It is difficult but change is a good thing.
The old is the old.
so is the rest of the world.
Anyway you said change is a good thing that is incorrect change can be a good and bad thing just look around Bolton town centre and the people moping around there has it changed for the better ?
"More pie bowls please"
says...
4:31pm Tue 10 Jul 12
I wonder why the Emerson Group has submitted the plans on behalf of P.E. Jones Contracts????
Erm because Emerson group have most of the contracts from Bolton council, and who is at the top of the council?
Clifford Morris, the director of Smitthills coaching house?
Sounds to me that Mr Morris will shuffle the planning permission through, and Emerson group will bung some cash to Mr Morris.
Mr Morris cannot be trusted, he is the reason I don’t vote labour.
I feel for the 30 staff, I wonder if Mr Morris is helping them through this, I really don’t think so.
“Shame on you Cliff”
Bolton news, print my comment in your paper? Or are you also controlled by the fat controller Morris.
MMHolmes
says...
4:48pm Tue 10 Jul 12
And Peter Clark disappeared off to his gaff in Cyprus not long after....
I asked if there were any plans in place to put on any kind of "do" for the staff before the closing and was told "No, they won't even tell us what's going on, let alone thank us for our service."
Shameful....
berushka
says...
5:13pm Tue 10 Jul 12
binmans wages reduced wrote:What's your problem binman? Just because it is private, it does not mean that the people should just sit back and watch another part of Bolton's history get destroyed. Any private owner has to obtain special planning permission to extend, alter or build on to an existing property in order that it blends in with existing surroundings. Therefore, it follows that any development on the Coaching House site will also have to reflect the surroundings, meaning 17th century style houses or whatever. Watch and see the modern box-style rubbish that is sprouting up everywhere, all with the blessing of the council. Do they forget that they own nothing, they simply administer on behalf of the real owners, the tax and council tax payers of Bolton. It is about time they listened to the people who pay their (overinflated) wages, and if a website or petition tells them the real feelings of the electorate, they ignore them at their peril come the next elections. Yet I suppose those who voted them in again, will do so in infinitum, as they know no better. Thank goodness I live in a small village, with houses dating back to 1300 and no chance of any council putting the dirty hands on it.
wonderer74 wrote:surely you can only optimistically oppose the closure of something thats in public ownership?
If anyone who opposes the plans has not already done so, they may wish to join the facebook group I created, which opposes the closure of Smithills Coaching House, and provides advice on what action can be taken to preserve it. https://www.facebook
.com/groups/38156878
8557406/
the coaching house is nothing to do with the council or government.
its a private business, so whats to be gained from putting effort into creating facebook pages opposing its closure?
nice try mate, but there is no logic or reason to your actions.
oftbewildered
says...
6:19pm Tue 10 Jul 12
JIMMT COLLINS wrote:probably not - although they could change it into dwellings without altering the eternal structure
thinking about it can can thy knock down a grade 2 listed building ?
oftbewildered
says...
6:26pm Tue 10 Jul 12
oftbewildered wrote:sorry - external structure.
JIMMT COLLINS wrote:probably not - although they could change it into dwellings without altering the eternal structure
thinking about it can can thy knock down a grade 2 listed building ?
fitz108
says...
7:44pm Tue 10 Jul 12
mydogisapussy
says...
8:23pm Tue 10 Jul 12
Smithills acreage would make a nice addition; a nice annexe to Moss Bank Park. A nice time for councillors to declare their interests in Bolton other than their own private agendas.
Doesn't life make you cynical.
aardwolf
says...
8:50pm Tue 10 Jul 12
whatshappeningtobolton
says...
9:11pm Tue 10 Jul 12
prime location for properties.
Sparkle47
says...
9:17pm Tue 10 Jul 12
"More pie bowls please"
says...
9:45pm Tue 10 Jul 12
The fat controllers one man misson to destroy Bolton and make as much money as he can.
http://boltonbang.co
.uk/2011/12/cliff-mo
rris/
fisherman1959
says...
11:06pm Tue 10 Jul 12
sallyupsteps
says...
12:04am Wed 11 Jul 12
toby_jugg
says...
5:20am Wed 11 Jul 12
Clifford Morris
Director Summary
Clifford Morris has 18 company director or secretary appointments.
Short name - Clifford Morris
Director ID : 900240875
Year of Birth: 1942
Address
2 Armadale Road
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United Kingdom
BL3 4QE
MARKETING MANCHESTER
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Dr John Kevin Ashcroft
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Mr Nicholas Edward Johnson
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Mr Alexander Moinet Poots
Councillor Clifford Morris
BOLTON COMMUNITY LEISURE LIMITED
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Resignation Date: 13/08/2010
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BL6 5PY
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MANCHESTER INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY SERVICE LIMITED
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M60 2LA
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Kabir Ahmed MBE JP DL
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CHAMBERLINK LIMITED
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MODESOLE LIMITED
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MANCHESTER AIRPORT PLC
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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LIMITED
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Mr John Kenneth O'Toole
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BOLTON COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTARY SERVICES
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Mr Nathan Akisi Biney
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Reverend Philip Roy Mason BA (HONS) DSPT
NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH IN ENGLAND AND WALES(THE)
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SMITHILLS RESTAURANTS(HOLDINGS
)LIMITED
Appointment Date: 04/01/1991
Resignation Date: 31/10/2008
Position: Director
Occupation: Company Director
Company Status: Active
Address:
THE COTTAGE
SMITHILLS COACHING HOUSE
SMITHILLS DEAN ROAD
BL1 7NR
GB
Directors and Secretaries
Mr Mark Buls
Mr Peter Stewart Clarke
--------------------
--------------------
--------------------
--------------------
-------------
SMITHILLS RESTAURANTS LIMITED
Appointment Date: 20/09/1996
Position: Director
Occupation: Catering Manager
Company Status: Dissolved
Address:
THE COTTAGE
SMITHILLS COACHING HOUSE
SMITHILLS DEAN ROAD
BL1 7NR
GB
Directors and Secretaries
Mrs Nicola Batty
Mr Peter Stewart Clarke
Mrs Patricia May Harthern
Councillor Clifford Morris
PERCIVALS CATERERS(BLACKBURN)L
IMITED
Appointment Date: 20/09/1996
Position: Director
Occupation: Catering Manager
Company Status: Dissolved
Address:
THE COTTAGE
SMITHILLS COACHING HSE
SMITHILLS DEAN RD
BL1 7NR
GB
Directors and Secretaries
Mrs Nicola Batty
Mr Peter Stewart Clarke
Councillor Clifford Morris
WONDERLAND CHICKEN FARMS LIMITED
Appointment Date: 20/09/1996
Position: Director
Occupation: Catering Manager
Company Status: Dissolved
Address:
THE COTTAGE
SMITHILLS COACHING HOUSE
SMITHILLS DEAN ROAD
BL1 7NR
GB
Directors and Secretaries
Mrs Nicola Batty
Mr Peter Stewart Clarke
Councillor Clifford Morris
SMITHILLS RESTAURANTS (FOOD PRODUCTS) LIMITED
Appointment Date: 20/09/1996
Position: Director
Occupation: Catering Manager
Company Status: Dissolved
Address:
THE COTTAGE
SMITHILLS COACHING HSE
SMITHILLS DEAN RD
BL1 7NR
GB
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Mrs Nicola Batty
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Councillor Clifford Morris
BOLTON CITY CHALLENGE PARTNERSHIP LIMITED
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Occupation: Director
Company Status: Dissolved
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BOLTON
GRTR MANCHESTER
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Ms Maureen Barlow
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Asadullah Khan
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Mr Andrew Richard Taylor
Mr Terence John Hogan BA BSC CENG MIEE CERT ED
Mrs Laura Beatrice Nuttall
Councillor Robert Lever Howarth
Mr Craig Bernard Howard
Councillor Clifford Morris
PERCIVAL'S(CATERERS)
LIMITED
Appointment Date: 04/01/1991
Position: Director
Occupation: Catering Manager
Company Status: Dissolved
Address:
THE COTTAGE
SMITHILLS COACHING HOUSE
SMITHILLS DEAN ROAD
BL1 7NR
GB
Directors and Secretaries
Mrs Nicola Batty
Mr Peter Stewart Clarke
Mrs Patricia May Harthern
Councillor Clifford Morris
NORTH WEST TOURIST BOARD
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JIMMT COLLINS
says...
8:58am Wed 11 Jul 12
morris should watch his back with people like you about
aardwolf
says...
9:25am Wed 11 Jul 12
BWFC71
says...
11:31am Wed 11 Jul 12
"More pie bowls please" wrote:P.E. Jones is actually part of the Emerson group!!! Nothing new there as Emerson, under PE Jones, actually controls the happenings of Middlebrook Retail and housing!!!!
More pies bowls please!!! I wonder why the Emerson Group has submitted the plans on behalf of P.E. Jones Contracts???? Erm because Emerson group have most of the contracts from Bolton council, and who is at the top of the council? Clifford Morris, the director of Smitthills coaching house? Sounds to me that Mr Morris will shuffle the planning permission through, and Emerson group will bung some cash to Mr Morris. Mr Morris cannot be trusted, he is the reason I don’t vote labour. I feel for the 30 staff, I wonder if Mr Morris is helping them through this, I really don’t think so. “Shame on you Cliff” Bolton news, print my comment in your paper? Or are you also controlled by the fat controller Morris.
MarkAllRead
says...
11:38am Thu 12 Jul 12
JIMMT COLLINS wrote:It takes but a moment. You go here:
christ toby jugg how long did that take you.
morris should watch his back with people like you about
http://company-direc
tor-check.co.uk/
and you type in his name.
shelllanc
says...
12:11am Fri 13 Jul 12
rostron
says...
7:43pm Sat 14 Jul 12
macauley
says...
7:57pm Sat 14 Jul 12
Rememberscarborough
says...
4:49pm Sun 15 Jul 12
sallyupsteps
says...
10:38am Mon 16 Jul 12
macauley
says...
12:18pm Mon 16 Jul 12
oftbewildered says...
9:45am Tue 10 Jul 12
..... shameful ....................
..... selling off the family silver piece by piece and hoping no one will notice