DESIGNS for another 174 homes at a controversial development site have been unveiled.

Bellway Homes has now formally submitted its plans for the second phase of building at Bowlands Hey in Westhoughton.

Last year, the Government overruled Bolton Council to give the major developer permission for the first 129 homes on the greenfield site — a decision that left residents and councillors ‘mortified’.

That scheme, alongside Persimmon’s 300-home plan at Lee Hall and Peel Holding’s proposed 1,000-home estate at Hulton Park, have sparked serious concerns over whether Westhoughton’s infrastructure can cope with a huge influx of new residents.

Bellway says that the second stage of its Bowlands Hey plan, on fields at The Fairways, would comprise a mix of one, two, three, four and some five-bedroom properties.

In a planning application sent to Bolton Council, the developer stated that the estate will be ‘a suitable and sustainable residential development’.

It added: “The development will create a high quality sustainable residential neighbourhood which maintains and enhances the key existing landscape features, integrating the site into the wider area.

“The development will maintain a well-informed, safe and attractive neighbourhood, which promotes the wellbeing of its residents and visitors.

“The properties will be accessible for all and the site is accessible by a range of means of transport giving residents and visitors a real choice about how they travel.”

When Bellway’s first informed residents of its intention to further develop the Bowlands Hey estate, Cllr David Chadwick said that the move was ‘absolutely crazy’.

He added that he was confident that Bolton Council’s planning committee would refuse Bellway’s application to build the 174 homes, but would expect the developer to win any appeal — as was the case with the first phase of the Bowlands Hey development.

Persimmon’s Lee Hall development was also won on appeal, with Government inspectors saying in both cases that the plans were being approved partly because Bolton Council is not meeting its required housing supply.

Conservative councillor Zoe Kirk-Robinson, who represents Westhoughton North and Chew Moor, added that she was ‘saddened, but not surprised’ by the latest plans.

The council’s planning committee will meet on March 1 to make a decision on Peel’s plans for the Hulton Park Estate, which include more than 1,000 and a championship golf course designed as a venue for the Ryder Cup.