A self-storage firm has appealed to keep containers on its land after Bolton Council planning bosses threw out their bid.

Cuboid Self Storage on Lostock Lane, Lostock, put in a retrospective planning application with the council in February last year.

It was for the "temporary installation" of 42 storage containers on a derelict site, for a period of up to three years. 

The site was last used as a car park in 2019. 

Opening hours were proposed as between 8am and 10pm Monday to Saturday and between 9am and 6pm on Sunday. 

However, planning officers recommended that the proposals be refused, on the grounds of "harm to the character and appearance of the area and to neighbours". 

Letters of objection described it as an "eyesore", "out of keeping with the area" and complained of a loss of privacy. 

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In its decision on December 3, Bolton Council said: "The proposed development, by reason of the siting, appearance, number, scale and height of the storage containers, does not conserve and enhance the character and appearance of the area and detrimentally affects the outlook of the neighbouring residents at 1 to 19 Rockwell Road and 11 to 31 Hercules Road, contrary to policies OA1 and CG4 of Bolton's Core Strategy and policy JP-P1 of Places for Everyone. 

"The proposal would not improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of the area nor does it comply with the development plan and therefore does not comprise sustainable development.

"There were no amendments to the scheme, or conditions which could reasonably have been imposed, which could have made the development acceptable and it was therefore not possible to approve the application.

"The Local Planning Authority has therefore implemented the requirement in Paragraph 38 of the National Planning Policy Framework." 

Now, Cuboid has submitted an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate on the council's decision. 

The appeal was submitted on January 29. Bolton Council confirmed receipt of it. 

A spokesperson for FI Real Estate Management, which managed Cuboid, said: "The land at our Lostock site is currently designated for mixed uses which includes employment uses in the council's development plan.

"We are pleased to have already worked with the local community, including a charity, to provide much-needed storage for them on this site.

"We have appealed this decision and look forward to liaising closely with the council on our appeal, to ensure all the requirements associated with the application are met."