A NURSING home and an apartment block could be built on the derelict site of a former hotel.

Cuerden Developments wants to develop the old Swallowfield Hotel, in Horwich, which had previously been earmarked for 42 new apartments.

Building work stalled on the Chorley New Road site when the global economic crash hit in 2008, before previous developers Redrow became locked in a long-running planning battle with Bolton Council over its contribution towards social housing in the borough.

The former Swallowfield Hotel was demolished in 2007 when Redrow started work on the site, with the foundations for the two blocks, with 21 flats inside each, constructed shortly after.

Cuerden now says it wants to come in and continue the development of the site on those existing foundations.

Under its new plans, the block to the east of the side would contain 28 apartments, while a three-storey nursing home providing 24 one-bed units is planned for the other section of the site.

Each block would have its own car park.

In a statement sent to Bolton Council, the developer said: “The development proposal offers the opportunity for a sustainable and attractive development on a previously used site that would meet the council’s needs for housing, create a more cohesive and complete built environment and provide enhancements to the local built and natural environment along with suitable drainage and transport strategies.”

The developer has also cited the council’s lack of a ‘robust’ five-year housing supply as a reason to approve the proposed development.

It adds that a the site would be a ‘healthy community with a high-quality design that provides green space, an attractive street scene and natural security’.