Unique Chorley wedding venue asks for extension to season

Currently, the Tipi at Riley Green, which operates from a site off Bolton Road, Hoghton, can only be erected from May 1 to September 30, so not to impact on the openness of the Green Belt.

Bosses have already managed to extend the time they are allowed to play music and when guests have to vacate the site, now they want Chorley Council to allow the tipi for an extra month either side of the season.

In a planning letter to Chorley Council they say: “The applicant seeks to vary this condition to allow the tipi to remain erected for an extra two months, one either end of the current season. This to allow an extended period of operation for the wedding/events business and to allow greater flexibility to erect and dismantle the tipis at the beginning and the end of the season.”

Previously developed land

The applicant argues that circumstances regarding Green Belt have changed since the initial application. They say they were given permission to build the toilet block and a building for kitchen/food preparation and storage, together with the hard surface/base upon which the tipis are erected. They say this now makes the area previously developed, and now National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) rules have changed meaning this is not considered inappropriate development in the Green Belt.

They add: “The tipi when erected is well screened by existing landscaping and topography to the point where any visual impact on openness is localised and limited to within the site itself.”