Rivington
Chase.
One of the North West's most significant regeneration programmes. A 150-acre former locomotive works, transformed over two decades into a new community of 1,700 homes, employment space, and a celebrated heritage destination.
A regeneration priority for Bolton. A landmark for the North West.
Rivington Chase is the comprehensive regeneration of the former Horwich Locomotive Works — a 150-acre brownfield site that sat derelict for over two decades following the closure of the Loco Works in 1983. The masterplan, developed by Bluemantle (now Novo Bluemantle) in close partnership with Bolton Council, will deliver up to 1,700 homes, significant employment space, retail and leisure amenities, and a heritage destination that celebrates the site's extraordinary industrial history.
The programme is backed by £14m in public sector grant support from Homes England and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority — recognition of the scheme's strategic importance to the region's housing delivery agenda and the complexity of bringing a heavily contaminated brownfield site back into productive use.
With over 900 homes already delivered by Morris Homes and Bellway, a 2km spine road completed, and the Heritage Core moving into delivery, Rivington Chase is no longer a vision — it is a community in the making.
A place that remembers where it came from.
The Horwich Locomotive Works opened in 1889 as one of the great engineering facilities of the Victorian era. At its peak, thousands of workers passed through its gates daily, producing locomotives that powered railways across Britain. Horwich was, in the truest sense, a railway town — and the Loco Works was its heart.
The Heritage Core at Rivington Chase is designed to ensure that history is never lost. Two of the original Loco Works buildings will be sensitively restored: the Millwrights Shop will become a heritage venue, community health and wellbeing centre, and a retail food and drink hall; the Pattern Makers Building will be transformed into a 166-space multi-storey car park within its original structure. A heritage trail will connect the war memorial, Rivington House, and the wider site.
Rivington House — the original Loco Works administration building — is already fully let to Fluent Money on a 10-year lease, generating income while the wider masterplan is delivered. It stands as proof that heritage and commercial performance are not in conflict; they are complementary.
Over a century of history. Two decades of regeneration.
A mixed-use masterplan built for community.
The Rivington Chase masterplan integrates residential, commercial, heritage, and green infrastructure across 150+ acres. Select a zone to explore.
Up to 1,700 homes across four phases, delivered by Morris Homes, Bellway, and Homes England — ranging from affordable starter homes to executive family housing.
"Rivington Chase has been created by many years of hard work and the history of the site means a huge amount to the local community. We have always been conscious of respecting this whilst creating a place that also provides new housing and employment opportunities for future generations."
Delivered through the right relationships.
Rivington Chase is a product of long-term partnerships between the public and private sectors. Each partner brings something essential to the programme.
Bolton Council has been a committed partner throughout the Rivington Chase journey — from early site assembly through to planning approval and ongoing delivery. The Council's co-investment in infrastructure and its strategic land holding have been fundamental to unlocking the scheme's viability.
Master developer. Major landowner. Long-term steward.
Novo Bluemantle's role at Rivington Chase is not that of a transactional developer. We are the master developer, a major landowner, and the long-term steward of a programme that has been 20 years in the making. Our commitment to the site predates the current planning framework, the current funding landscape, and the current market cycle.
That longevity gives us something no short-term developer can replicate: a deep understanding of the site, its community, its constraints, and its potential. We have navigated contamination challenges, viability cycles, planning evolutions, and market shifts — and we have done so without compromising the quality of the vision.
The formation of Novo Bluemantle in 2025 — bringing together Mark Caldwell's stewardship of the site with Ben Fearns' residential development expertise — marks the beginning of the final chapter: delivering the remaining phases, the Heritage Core, and the commercial parcels that will complete the vision.
Novo Bluemantle holds a significant land interest across the masterplan, aligning our commercial interests with long-term delivery quality.
A genuine public-private partnership, with Bolton Council as a strategic landowner and co-investor in the programme's infrastructure.
We have led the community consultation, heritage planning, and restoration design for the Loco Works buildings since 2018.
Homes England and GMCA grant support provides the institutional credibility and financial foundation for the programme's final phases.
Progress on the ground.
Interested in the remaining commercial parcels or investment opportunities?
Four mixed-use parcels totalling approximately 20 acres are being marketed by Colliers. For direct enquiries about investment, occupier, or partnership opportunities at Rivington Chase, contact the Novo Bluemantle team.