The site of a summer wedding venue in Chorley will be used for outdoor sport and recreation activities in the months when marriages are not being conducted.

Chorley Council’s planning committee has granted retrospective approval for two new buildings – which have already been put in place – to expand the offering for visitors to Riley Green Marina in Hoghton.

Members heard that the two shipping container facilities were vital to enabling the further diversification of the greenbelt site and keeping the business afloat. It is the second time the operators of the plot, off Bolton Road in Hoghton – alongside the Leeds-Liverpool Canal – have broadened their business.

Read more: Preston Guild Hall could partially reopen but long-term future far from clear

Having first regenerated the marina more than 15 years ago via their Canal Boat Cruises venture – which offers its own boat-based wedding receptions – they later installed four tipis on the wider site in 2019 to serve as a wedding ceremony venue and outdoor activity centre.

The planning permission granted meant the distinctive conical facilities could only be in place between the beginning of May and the end of September, in order to limit the period during which they had an impact on the openness of the greenbelt.

Business owners Lesley and John Yates have now added the shipping containers – one of which operates as a toilet block and the other a kitchen and storage area – to allow sport and recreation to continue for the remainder of year, when the tipis are not in situ.

Activities on offer include archery, cycling and outdoor bootcamps, bushcraft, paddle boarding, canoeing and open water swimming.

Lesley Yates told the committee that the site attracts 15,000 visitors a year and employs 30 staff. However, she said a range of factors – including canal closures, Covid and the derelict Boatyard Inn site nearby – had led to “a significant downturn in boating business over the last six or seven years”.

She added:  “All businesses need to progress and respond to change.   This family business has worked passionately and tirelessly to create a vibrant [facility], whilst protecting heritage and the environment that provides so many social and economic benefits to the area.

“The project is needed to protect the future of the business and the area for generations to come. It would be such a shame for Chorley to use one of the oldest working boatyards on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal,” Mrs. Yates said.

She also told councillors that the new facilities, particularly the toilet block, would make the site more accessible for schools, youth groups and the disabled.

A report by council planning officers noted the “modest” nature of the containers that had been installed and concluded that the “very special circumstances” needed to justify such a development in the greenbelt had been demonstrated – including the “economic and social benefit” of the proposal, which they found carried “significant weight”.

Committee members agreed, with Cllr Craige Southern saying the applicants had “made the case for the amount of people they employ and the amount of business [the site] brings to the area”.

Cllr Debra Platt added that the facility “offers a lot” to the locality.

The application was approved by a majority, with just one abstention.

Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox.

Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines