Bolton Council receives planning application for £240m golf club

A Manchester development company has submitted a planning application to build a £240 million golf club which it hopes will host the Ryder Cup.

The ambitious project would see a golf course, hotel and 1,000 homes built on the estate of Hulton Hall – which was demolished more than 60 years ago – in Greater Manchester.

“A planning application has been submitted for the restoration of the Hulton Park Estate in Bolton, including the creation of a championship golf venue, supporting facilities and a new community of around 1,000 homes,” says a statement from Peel Land and Property.

How the proposed development will look

“The 18-hole championship golf course has been designed by European Golf Design, to cater for the largest golf tournaments, including the Ryder Cup, which requires the capacity and facilities to host the world’s media and around 70,000 visitors at a time.

“Complementing the golf course will be a new luxury hotel with spa and conference facilities, to be built on the site of the former Hulton Hall. ‘New Hulton Hall’ will sit in the restored listed landscape of lakes, pleasure grounds and a walled kitchen garden that once graced the estate.”

As part of the plans, a new clubhouse will also be built on the edge of the park, whilst on adjoining land a golf academy will be created, including a driving range, short course area, adventure golf ‘and spaces for education, tuition and sports science’.

Richard Knight, planning director at Peel Land and Property, said “The Hulton Park project is a unique once-in-a-generation opportunity to sensitively restore a lost historic park into a world class golf destination. It’s a perfect fit for Bolton and Greater Manchester, using investment in sporting venues and major events to boost the local economy, provide new job opportunities for local people, increase participation in sport and improve community access for recreation. The new homes are an essential part of the project and will help meet local needs. We have taken our time to listen and address all the issues that have been raised, with the aim of delivering a positive and lasting legacy.”

Hulton Park is a 645 acre hidden private estate. Having been home to the Hulton family for nearly 1,000 years, it was acquired by Peel Land and Property in 2010 when the estate was brought onto the market. The park has been in decline for around a century since the Pretoria Pit disaster of 1910, Britain’s second worst mining disaster ever, when 344 boys and men died on the park edge.

The plans include improvements to the Pretoria Pit memorial

“The proposals include the Hulton Trail walking and cycling route around the park, a new Pretoria Park and improvements to the Pretoria Pit memorial at the edge of the site, all to be worked up and delivered in partnership with the local community,” says the statement.

“Around 1,000 new homes are also proposed around the fringes of the vast estate. The new homes will help fund and deliver the restoration and golf facilities. The project will also facilitate multi-million pound investments in local infrastructure, including a new primary school on adjoining land and a new access road that will relieve junction congestion in nearby Westhoughton.

“The £240 million scheme will help create employment and apprenticeship opportunities, improve productivity, increase expenditure in the local economy and add new public revenue streams. It will also deliver a range of health and wellbeing benefits associated with jobs, housing and participation in sport and recreation.”

If planning permission is granted, it is anticipated that development could start as soon as 2019.