A Bolton supermarket has appealed against an enforcement notice requiring it to demolish an unauthorised extension to a historic bank building. Farnworth Fresh Food, which began operating from the former NatWest branch on Church Street, Farnworth, this week, is using the extension to display fruit and vegetables for sale.
In August, Bolton council said no planning permission had been applied for to add metal shutters and an extension along the side of the building. The enforcement notice, issued on August 25, 2026, set a deadline for demolition and removal within two months of the notice taking effect on September 30.
Appeal and threats
Management at the store said they had appealed the enforcement notice, and if that application failed, the structure would be removed. A spokesman for the shop said the business had faced hostility and threats since opening, but the intention was to 'serve the community'.
“There have been some incidents which I have on CCTV,” he said. “These people say they care about the building but I’ve had one person say they want to damage it. There have been others throwing stones at the roof.”
Graffiti has previously been sprayed on the metal roller shutters on the extension, reading 'pull it down'.
Business and building history
The spokesman said: “The business employs five people, we’re paying thousands in rent and business rates. The extension covers a small space. We’ve appealed the notice but if it comes to it we’ll take it down.”
The Victorian building, designed by architect George Woodhouse in 1877, first opened as a branch of the Bank of Bolton. The NatWest branch closed in May 2025. The property includes a basement, ground floor banking hall, and first-floor office accommodation.
In April this year, plans to transform a section of the building into a seven-bedroom shared house were rejected by the council. In September, Farnworth Fresh Food applied for retrospective planning permission for the unauthorised side extension, but Bolton council said they would not deliberate on that proposal while the enforcement notice was in effect.
Enforcement conditions
The enforcement notice states that, subject to any appeal, the unauthorised extension must be demolished and the roller shutter doors removed within two months of the notice taking effect. A condition requires the restoration of the south principal elevation of the building to its condition immediately before the unauthorised development, including the repair of the original elevation using materials to match the original building in appearance, colour, texture, and finish. That work must be completed within nine months of the notice taking effect.
