Flats plan ‘last chance’ for landmark church

Lyndon Forshaw issued the warning after revealing a £2.6 million plan to save Holy Trinity Church in Trinity Street, Bolton.

Designers have tabled an innovative project to construct a “building within a building”.

The church’s listed status means the exterior cannot be changed.

It closed in 1992 and is in such a poor state that Mr Forshaw predicts it could become structurally unsafe if the latest plan fails.

He wants to build a three-storey apartment block within the church, with 42 studio flats.

A four-storey apartment block would also be built to the east of the church and a two-storey apartment block, called The Lodge, would be put up on the Crook Street side.

Those two buildings would contain 40 apartments between them.

Mr Forshaw, who would be doing the renovation with his brother, Glenn, said: “It is a case of do or die for the building now. Bits of the ceiling are coming off.

“It’s becoming like a waterfall in there and it can’t go on.

“If work goes ahead, we can renovate the roof, but otherwise it will prove extremely difficult to find an alternative proposal that will make money.”

Mr Forshaw runs Forshaw Land and Property Group and is also a partner in Hamilton Black, which transformed the Pack Horse Hotel in Nelson Square into a luxury “des-res” block for students.

He added: “We can do the same at the church, building hi-spec ‘crash pads’ for students or professionals.

“The location is second to none, with two supermarkets nearby, and the train station and St Peter’s Way are close too.

“We are very confident about this project and hope Bolton Council likes it too.”

The rooms would be rented out for roughly £400 to £500 a month and, if planning permission is granted, Mr Forshaw hopes the building will be complete by next summer.

The council’s consultation period ended today.

No-one has formally objected to the proposal and Bolton Civic Trust chairman Brian Tetlow has voiced his support.