A property owner faces having to pull down decking after planning bosses threw out an application submitted after the decking was installed.

Trees in the garden were also removed to allow the decking to be installed, which was described as an 'unacceptable loss'.

Mona Patel applied for retrospective planning permission for the back of the property on Templecombe Drive, which was rejected.

And she is now to appeal Bolton Council's planning committee ruling.

Images show that decking has been set up there starting at 20 centimetres above the ground.

A report from officers said multiple trees had been removed to allow the decking to be set up.

It said: “A site visit undertaken in 2023 in relation to the current application has revealed that both oak trees that were subject to tree protection orders had been removed, along with seven other trees, to accommodate the decking and associated fencing.”

The planning department of the council rejected the proposal to keep the decking in June 2023.

A report from officers outlined the reasons.

It said: “The proposed development has resulted in damage to and ultimately the unacceptable loss of trees from the site, including the loss of two protected trees, to the detriment of the visual amenity and biodiversity values of the application site and the local area.”

It also said that its “siting and height” had “detrimentally harms the amenity and living conditions” of two nearby homes.

Officers had previously highlighted in a report some reasons why the development may be acceptable despite recommending it for refusal.

They said: “The decking and boundary treatment is located to the rear of the site, and thus will not adversely affect the character and appearance of the street scene.

“The decking will not be prominently visible from public vantage points due to boundary treatment along the side of the property and is thus not considered to harm the character of the area.”

Now the homeowner has launched an appeal against the council’s decision to reject plans for the decking.

The fresh effort to keep the changes has been launched with the local authority.

Cllr John Walsh, who chairs the planning committee, urged people not to assume that retrospective permission will be given.

He said: "If a planning application is refused retrospectively it must go back to the way it was before.

"It is concerning that there are a number of people that thing that can build and will assume that permission will be granted retrospectively as a way around potential objections.

"I would urge total caution to anybody who think this is an appropriate way forward.

"If trees have been removed that are protected and retrospective permission is refused they will be replaced with similar specimens."