Building firm faces planning battle after noise…

Building firm faces planning battle after noise complaints

A building company is facing a planning battle after complaints from nearby households about noise from the site. Rigby House, Crown Lane, Horwich has been occupied by Mansell Building Solutions since 2021, who use the site for assembly, manufacturing, offices and storage.

Last year Bolton Council received complaints from nearby households about noise from the site and enforcement officers investigated. Mansell argued that Rigby House was built as an industrial site in 1972 and there had been no change to that status since.

A number of houses were built close to the factory in the 1990s. In January, the council refused an application from the firm for a certificate of lawful use for the site.

In a report outlining that decision, the council said that from 2015 to 2020, the complex was occupied by Allure Homes, who supplied soft furnishings to The Range. They argued that the introduction of a storage use which lasted for approximately five years extinguished the lawful use of the site as industrial.

The council report said: “Recent complaints received by both the enforcement section and planning in relation to the recent use by Mansell raise concerns about noise nuisance, stating this is considerably more than from the previous use by Allure Homes, which was exclusively for storage. When Mansell Finishes Ltd occupied the site it had no lawful use rights.

“No further evidence has been supplied by the applicant. Therefore, it is not considered that sufficient evidence has been provided to prove that the lawful use of the site is industrial.”

Correspondence from an objector has also been published by Bolton Council.

It states: “Under the ‘Range’ name it was a warehousing facility. The operation that has been allowed to get underway since 2021 is incompatible with the surrounding area and land occupiers, in a site that is not fit for purpose, as evidenced by the noise levels and visual impact.

“The Rigby House site in question has not been used for manufacturing or industrial use since before houses were built in the early 1990s.”

Mansell, which was established in 1992, has now re-applied for a certificate of lawful use as industrial and said it had provided further evidence about the use of the site over the years.

Their planning statement said: “The planning history of the site has been outlined from when the first building was constructed on site. No change of use has been submitted and approved to the council.

“A barrister’s opinion supports the view that the originally permitted use rights persist. Accordingly, the lawful use of the site remains as manufacturing with offices.

“There is no sufficiently clear evidence of a material change over the years and the existing use rights permitted by the construction of the buildings persist today. The existing use of the site by Mansell Building Solutions is consistent with that lawful use, therefore it is respectfully requested that the certificate of lawfulness is given.”