Bolton council has issued an enforcement notice requiring the demolition of an unauthorised extension and the removal of three roller shutter doors at the former NatWest building on the corner of Church Street, Farnworth. The notice, published by the council, states that no planning permission was previously applied for or approved for the work.
Deadline set for removal and restoration
Subject to any appeal being lodged, the unauthorised extension must be demolished and the roller shutter doors must be removed within two months of the notice taking effect on September 30. A third condition requires the restoration of the south principal elevation of the building to its condition immediately before the unauthorised development took place.
This includes the repair of the original elevation removed or damaged during the construction works, using materials to match the original building in appearance, colour, texture and finish. That element of the work must be completed within nine months of the notice taking effect.
Notice issued on August 25
The notice said: “Today, (August 25, 2026), planning enforcement have issued an enforcement notice on the above site for ‘without planning permission, the unauthorised extension of commercial premises and the unauthorised installation of three roller shutter doors’.”
The NatWest branch which previously occupied the building closed in May, 2025. The property includes a basement, ground floor banking hall, and first-floor office accommodation. In April this year, plans were rejected by the council to transform a section of the building into a seven-bedroom shared house.
Victorian heritage valued by residents
Among the reasons given for refusal by the council was that the ‘small size of the kitchen and dining area and the lack of external amenity space is not capable of providing future residents with high standard of amenity’. The building, of Victorian origin, has long been admired by many Farnworth residents for its architectural merits.
It first opened as a branch of the Bank of Bolton, designed by architect George Woodhouse in 1877. Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service while photography of building was happening, Farnworth resident Mick Daley, 67, said the bank ‘had heritage value’ and was one of the town’s most recognisable buildings.
He said: “I’ve seen the notice and I’m glad something’s being done. When the shutters went up I wondered whether they were permitted. It took a few days to ruin the side of the building.”
