Two LUC professionals contributed to the recent inquiry into Hulton Park in Bolton.

The planning proposal is for restoration works to Hulton Park (a Registered Park and Garden) combined with a new 18-hole golf course and outline planning permission for residential development of up to 1036 dwellings.

LUC provided expertise in relation to historic landscapes plus landscape and visual impacts.

Plans for the Hulton Park Estate

The Hulton Park Estate is in long-term decline and in need of major investment.

The proposed scheme will provide the intervention needed to reverse the decline of the park and restore those parts of the Registered Park and Garden with the greatest heritage significance, including the pleasure grounds, dovecote, walled garden and lakes.

It will also provide an iconic international golf destination capable of hosting the world’s largest championships and driving local participation, skills and tourism and investment.

Working with Peel L&P at Hulton Park

LUC has been advising Peel L&P for a number of years on the future for Hulton Park. The proposed masterplan will provide a sustainable future for the estate, carefully balancing restoration with contemporary relevance.

Our landscape specialists worked alongside European Golf Design, Leach Rhodes Walker and The Environment Partnership to develop the planning application. It was submitted in May 2017.

Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council resolved to grant planning permission in support of the Officer’s recommendation, but subsequently, the proposal was called-in by the Secretary of State. The Inspector’s report and the decision is due in early 2020.

Our involvement at Hulton Park builds on LUC’s extensive portfolio of heritage restoration projects. This includes projects at Stowe, Hampton Court Palace and Heligan Gardens, Cornwall. LUC was also the author of the English Heritage ‘Guidance on Golf in Historic Landscapes’.

Read our article on the role of the expert witness.