A residents’ association is bidding to protect green fields in a village on the outskirts of Bolton from development. Dunscar Residents’ Association, supported by local councillors from the Bromley Cross ward, hopes to raise £15,000 for a barrister to put forward its case to confer ‘village green’ status at the Tongfields site.
The group says its aim is to ‘protect our local village green, long enjoyed by our community, from destruction for executive housing’. House builder Oakmere Homes has an outline application lodged with Bolton council to build 86 homes on the green belt land.
Crowd fund appeal launched
The group has set up a crowd fund appeal to raise £15,000 to pay for legal representation to argue the space should be a village green, and protected from development. The residents’ association said: “This case appears to be unique, as we applied to register this village green just a few short weeks before a developer filed plans to destroy the green for a major housing development.
“We’re aware of no other cases where a village green application and a major development application are running at the same time for the same site, and the stakes could not be higher – if we lose our case, then we won’t be able to try again for another 20 years, and the site would be forever altered. Our pledge is that all monies will be spent on our campaign to protect our village green.”
Vision for the site
“Our vision is to protect this village green in perpetuity – and to make it a hub of community activity, a haven of green space in an increasingly urban environment, and a place for children to thrive.” The association said it had the ‘right barrister on our side’, who is currently working for free.
However, the group said this would not be feasible for the actual inquiry, which could mean the barrister staying in Bolton for some two to three weeks to prepare and argue the case with the inspector. On Monday, September 28 the fundraiser stood at £2,970 of its £15,000 target.
Councillor support and planning details
Bromley Cross councillors Nadim Muslim and Charlotte Cadden have been supporting the campaign. Coun Muslim said: “If every resident in Bromley Cross and Egerton donated £1.50, we’d help the Dunscar Residents’ Association raise the money needed to fund the barrister who will help us secure village green status and save Tongfields.”
The site is located on the western edge of Bromley Cross, immediately north-west of Kiln Field and accessed from Higher Ridings, to the south of Egerton. The planning application for the new 86-home estate was lodged in December, 2025 and has not yet been decided.
A design and access statement on behalf of Oakmere in support of the plans said: “We are committed to working collaboratively with Bolton council, stakeholders, and the local community to ensure our proposal for land at Tongfields makes a positive contribution to the local area and helps address housing needs.” The developer said the site extends to approximately 3.95 hectares and comprises ‘a large arable field’.
Oakmere argues that while the site lies within the green belt, recent changes to national policy introduce the concept of grey belt, recognising land that does not strongly contribute to green belt purposes. The developer contends that the site is ‘a logical and sustainable location for development’.
