- Land size
- 16.41 acres
Key Features
- Residential development opportunity.
- Planning in Principle for up to 9 dwellings.
- Additional agricultural land and amenity ponds.
- Total site extending to 16.41 acres (6.64 hectares) or thereabouts.
- Sought after Wheelton Village location.
- Superb accessibility to Preston, Bolton, Liverpool and Manchester.
- Good connectivity onto M61 and M6 road networks.
Description
The Land to the south of Top Lock PH benefits from Permission in Principle for the development of up to 9 residential dwellings, together with an extensive area of adjoining agricultural land, amenity ponds and woodland. The overall site extends to approximately 16.4 acres (6.64 hectares) or thereabouts.
The site occupies an attractive position on the edge of Wheelton Village, directly adjoining the Johnson’s Hillock Locks on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. This highly desirable semi-rural setting provides an exceptional opportunity to create a select residential development within an attractive and established village environment.
The site enjoys open views across the surrounding agricultural land and the adjacent Leeds & Liverpool Canal, whilst offering excellent accessibility to the region’s major towns and cities, including Preston, Bolton and Manchester. The location is particularly well suited to commuters, with Junction 8 of the M61 approximately 1.3 miles to the south-west, providing convenient access to the wider motorway network.
The combination of its village setting, attractive surroundings and excellent transport links is expected to make the completed dwellings highly appealing to a broad range of purchasers, including families, professionals and commuters.
Extending to approximately 16.4 acres (6.64 hectares), the site currently comprises agricultural grassland, woodland and amenity ponds, as outlined in red on the site plan.
An area extending to approximately 0.96 acres (0.39 hectares) benefits from Permission in Principle planning consent from Chorley Borough Council under application reference 25/01107/PIP. The Permission in Principle establishes the acceptability of residential development for up to nine dwellings on the area identified, subject to the subsequent submission and approval of a required detailed planning consent.
A plan identifying the area benefiting from the Permission in Principle is included within these sales particulars.
Given the scale and nature of the wider holding, there may also be scope for prospective purchasers to explore amendments to the existing planning, subject to the necessary approvals, to accommodate an alternative or enhanced residential scheme tailored to individual development requirements.
The wider site comprises predominantly agricultural grassland, incorporating a number of mature in-field trees. To the south and west are areas of established woodland and scrub, together with two amenity ponds located within a former quarry.
The property benefits from direct access and roadside frontage onto Copthurst Lane, providing a practical point of access to the holding.
The combination of the land benefitting from Permission in Principle and the substantial areas of adjoining amenity and agricultural land creates an opportunity rarely seen in the market.
This is an exceptional opportunity to acquire a substantial development holding in a highly desirable and accessible location. The proposed residential element provides the potential to create a distinctive and select development, whilst the adjoining agricultural land, woodland and amenity ponds add significant scale, character and flexibility to the overall opportunity.
Development sites of this nature, combining an established residential planning position with substantial areas of additional land, are rarely offered to the market. The property is therefore expected to appeal to a wide range of purchasers, including residential developers, housebuilders, investors and private individuals seeking an opportunity with the potential to accommodate a variety of development aspirations, subject to the necessary planning approvals.
Map Location
Property details
- Tenure
- Freehold
- Council Tax Band
- Ask Agent
- Date Posted
- 2026-11-02
Market Value Analysis
Compared with 20 Development Land listings in North West England (10+ acres).
Property Brochure
Seen the details? The full report adds the independent checks: planning activity, flood history, heritage and ground.
Utilities & Restrictions
Utilities
- Electricity
- Ask Agent
- Water
- Ask Agent
- Heating
- Ask Agent
- Broadband
- Ask Agent
- Sewerage
- Ask Agent
Rights & Restrictions
- Public Rights of Way
- Yes
- Private Rights of Way
- Ask Agent
- Listed Property
- Ask Agent
- Restrictions
- Ask Agent
Listed status, conservation areas and planning constraints for this location are in the full report.
Property Features
- Accessibility
- Ask Agent
- Parking
- Ask Agent
- Garden
- Ask Agent
Beyond the particulars: planning activity, flood history, heritage and ground risks, checked for this exact spot.
Connectivity
Broadband
Fastest speed available at this postcode
1.8 Gbps
Gigabit full fibre · available to 54% of premises
Suitable for
- 4K streaming on every screen
- Full-time home working
- Online gaming & big downloads
Mobile signal
Predicted 4G and 5G signal; indoor signal depends on building materials.
Ofcom Connected Nations postcode-level predictions. Speeds and signal are modelled, not measured, and vary between addresses and providers.
Signal is the easy part. Planning activity, flood history and protected designations here are in the full report.
Nearest Schools
Primary
- St Chad's Catholic Primary School464 metresNo Ofsted rating
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Pupils
- 139
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Faith
- Roman Catholic
- Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School1.1 milesOfsted: Good *
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Pupils
- 240
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Faith
- Church of England
- Withnell Fold Primary School1.4 milesNo Ofsted rating
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Pupils
- 83
- Type
- Community school
- Clayton-le-Woods Manor Road Primary School1.5 milesNo Ofsted rating
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Pupils
- 250
- Type
- Community school
- Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School1.5 milesOfsted: Good
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Pupils
- 183
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Faith
- Church of England/Methodist
Secondary
- St Michael's Church of England High School2 milesOfsted: Good
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Pupils
- 1,134
- Type
- Academy converter
- Faith
- Church of England
- Parklands High School2.5 milesNo Ofsted rating
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Pupils
- 1,102
- Type
- Academy converter
- Albany Academy3 milesOfsted: Good
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Pupils
- 725
- Type
- Academy converter
- Balshaw's Church of England High School3 milesOfsted: Good
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Pupils
- 921
- Type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Faith
- Church of England
- Holy Cross Catholic High School3.4 milesNo Ofsted rating
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Pupils
- 976
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Faith
- Roman Catholic
* Latest graded judgement covers quality of education only; no overall grade was issued under the 2024-25 inspection framework.
Distances are straight-line from the advertised location. Source: the national school registers (DfE, Welsh Government, Scottish Government) and Ofsted.
Schools are just the start: sold prices nearby, planning activity and any flood history are in the full report.
Amenities
Supermarket
GP surgery
Pharmacy
Hospital
Green space
Straight-line distances from the advertised location. Sources: NHS records, Geolytix supermarket locations, OS Open Greenspace and the national trails registers.
The area stacks up? Now check the location itself: planning nearby, protected designations and past flooding.
Getting Around
Nearest station
Nearest bus stop
Typical drive times
Straight-line distances from the advertised location; drive times are typical free-flow times over OpenStreetMap road data, so allow more at peak. Public transport locations from DfT NaPTAN.
Easy to reach matters. So do planning activity, flood history and ground risks: all in the full report.
Flood Risk
Environment Agency open data, checked around the advertised map pin for the listed acreage. Long-term risk counts flood defences; the planning map's flood zones do not. Provided by LandSale, not the listing agent, and not part of the agent's particulars. Risk varies across a holding, so verify before committing.
Rivers and the sea
Planning map: Flood Zone 1.
Surface water
Not at the pin: mapped about 80 metres away.
These bandings are the summary. Where this location sits on the flood maps, plus planning activity, heritage and ground risks, is in the full report.
Important notice: Information, maps and tags on this page are drawn from the advertising agent's marketing materials or generated automatically. LandSale has not verified them. Relying on these details is at your own risk, always carry out independent checks before committing to a purchase.
LandSale full disclaimer
Marketing information only - not formal particulars. The details on this website are provided for general guidance and do not constitute an offer or contract. Neither LandSale nor the advertising estate/land agent accepts responsibility for any inaccuracy.
1. Source of information
- Listing content: Core description, asking price, tenure, measurements, photographs and planning history originate from the marketing materials of the advertising estate or land agent. LandSale does not author this content and cannot guarantee its accuracy.
- Automated tags & categorisation: Property type, land-use class, acreage bands and similar labels may be applied by machine-learning models. They are intended as a helpful guide only and may not reflect the property's legal status or permitted use.
- Third-party & enriched data layers: Maps, boundary outlines, planning designations, soil reports, broadband coverage and other environmental or location-based insights are licensed from external suppliers. Such data are supplied “as is", may be incomplete or out of date and are subject to change without notice.
2. Verification required
Prospective purchasers must verify critical matters, including but not limited to planning permission, title boundaries, public rights of way, environmental constraints, acreage, services, access and VAT status, through their own inspections, specialist surveys, legal advisers and the selling agent before relying on the information or entering into any contract.
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Listing agent
Armitstead Barnett, South Lancashire59 Liverpool Road North, Burscough, Lancashire L40 0SA
Contact Armitstead Barnett, South Lancashire

59 Liverpool Road North, Burscough, Lancashire L40 0SA
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