OUTRAGED neighbours have condemned a developer for building “unauthorised” homes, despite being advised to stop by Bolton Council.

Workmen are constructing five homes at Grundy Fold Farm in Chorley Old Road, Horwich — the former site of a 200-year-old farmhouse that was demolished to make way for the dwellings.

But according to Bolton Council, the homes are bigger and in different locations compared to the plans agreed by the authority in August, 2014.

Council officers have advised the developer, who is represented by Neil Pike Architects, to stop building but the work has continued, leaving nearby residents up in arms.

Elaine Edmund lives in Scant Row, just across the road from the development. She says the homes are “a blot on the landscape and have ruined the area for both local people and visitors”.

She said: “It’s quite saddening really. It’s a beautiful area and you can’t allow builders to come in and ignore the council because they want to make money and ruin the area for everyone.

“Loads of people come here to park up and admire the views. They sit there having five or 10 minutes watching the land.

“It’s just awful that they have been allowed to do this. It’s a nice rural area and a lot of people come up here for walks every day with their dogs.

“It’s obviously an area of enjoyment for them.”

A council spokesman said the floor area of all five buildings had been made larger than the approved plans and three of them were higher than permitted.

They have also been built away from the exact area the developer had approval for.

A retrospective planning application containing the alterations was submitted by applicant Mr I Holden and agents Neil Pike Architects in March.

A spokesman for the authority said: “We investigated and found that development was taking place. Five houses were being built which were not in accordance with the planning permission that was granted in August, 2014.

“The developer has planning approval for five dwellings. However, on inspection we found that the dwellings were a different design, siting and size than detailed in the planning permission and changes in levels have taken place. We have advised the developer to stop work on a number of occasions.

“In this particular case, while it was not appropriate to issue a notice forcing work to stop, we have explained the development is unauthorised and given timescales to address the matter.

“The developer has chosen to proceed with the work at their own risk and has submitted a retrospective planning application which they are permitted to do.”

In a design and access statement submitted with the retrospective application, Neil Pike Architects claimed that a fault runs through the site from east to west under where the buildings were supposed to be.

They said engineers had advised no buildings should be within 10m of the fault line, leading to the dwellings being “more widespread than originally intended”. Neil Pike Architects has been contacted for a response.

The latest planning application is seeking approval for the five dwellings together with importation of materials and raising of ground levels.

It is due to go before Bolton Council’s planning committee on Thursday, May 11.

Anyone wishing to comment on the application needs to do so before the end of Tuesday.

For more information, search for the reference number 00417/17 on the planning section of Bolton Council’s website at bolton.gov.uk