PLANS for the first phase of houses at the multi-million pound Horwich Loco Works regeneration have been revealed.

Bellway Homes submitted the application for 112 homes at the north west end of what will be the Rivington Chase development off Chorley New Road.

It is the first housing application for the Loco Works since Bolton Council gave outline permission for 1,700 homes to be built at the site in 2016.

In a planning statement, Bellway Homes said: "The development of the of the application site is of significant importance important to unlocking adjacent parcels of land, ensuring that they come forward and are delivered in a logical and comprehensive manner.

"In terms of the impact on infrastructure this has been predicated within the phasing strategy for both the application and wider Loco Works site.

"The regeneration of the former Horwich Loco Work site is of strategic importance to the council and will deliver a substantial number of new homes, up to 1,700, which forms a key part of the housing trajectory.

"Following extensive pre-application discussions with the council a phasing and open space strategy has been developed.

"The proposals therefore comply with the anticipated sequencing of development and will provide important benefits in enhancing the primary vehicular access (Rivington House), unlocking development in this part of the site and contributing fairly to the provision of wider on and off site infrastructure."

It revealed that all major landowners at the site, of which there are believed to be around seven, have bene in negotiations with the council in order to determine who to deliver the housing scheme.

The statement continued: "All parties, including Bellway Homes, are committed to the successful delivery of the entirety of the Rivington Chase development and in ensuring that agreements are put in place to secure all necessary on and off site infrastructure to serve the development.

"Equally all parties are committed to delivering the council's aims and objectives for a sustainable, high quality new development which will bring many benefits to Horwich and the wider borough of Bolton.

"This first phase development by Bellway is therefore an essential catalyst to delivering the council's long established vision for regenerating the site, and meeting the council's identified housing and employment requirements."

It comes after the collapse of Horwich Vision, a conglomerate consisting of Bluemantle and Orbit Developments that obtained outline permission for the project.

The collapse has left Bluemantle as the sole body overseeing the project and it recently released its phasing strategy detailing when each phase of houses was scheduled to be built.

To view the Bellway Homes application, search for reference number 01373/17 on the planning portal at bolton.gov.uk