Progress has been made on one of the biggest housing developments Bolton has seen in decades.

The ambitious proposal will see well in excess of 1,000 homes built on the old Horwich Loco Works site off Chorley New Road as part of the Rivington Chase regeneration scheme.

This months, developers Bellway Homes applied to increase the number of houses on one part of the scheme from 205 to 213.

Council deputy leader Cllr Akhtar Zaman said: “This development around Horwich Loco Works really started as far back as 2006 to 2007 and when I went round there it was really nice to see the progress that had been made.

“They now have a show home ready, Bellway have opened an office there and people have been enquiring about how the scheme is progressing.”

The Bolton News: The old Horwich Loco Works siteThe old Horwich Loco Works site (Image: Newsquest)

He added: “Over the next ten years there are going to be more than 1,600 houses built so its going to be really good news for Bolton.”

Having originally been established as an engineering and manufacturing site in the 19th century, Horwich Loco Works closed down in 1983, though a foundry remained on site until 2004.

But since then, it has become a focus for new housing developments, with various different agencies and developers set to play their parts.

The phase involving the 205 houses to be built by Bellway was approved back in October 2021, with land director George Stevenson claiming at the time it would make Horwich an “exciting and attractive place to live."

Cllr Zaman, who also serves as cabinet member for regeneration, visited the site just last week to see the works for himself.

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He says that he hopes it will dovetail with other major housing projects across the borough.

Cllr Zaman said: “We’ve got a shortage of houses in Bolton, so the aim is to build 600 to 700 each year up to 2039, 2040.

“So this will help us to meet that target but more importantly if we want to attract people into Bolton to come and live here then we need good quality housing.”

The proposal to increase the number of houses was put before the council on Monday, July 10, with a determination deadline set for Monday, August 7 this year.