A FORMER golf club is set to be transformed into grounds for an expanding Buddhist temple, according to plans lodged to Bolton Council.
The proposals will see the Wat Sriratanaram Thai Buddhist temple on Moss Lane, Kearsley, further expand its grounds onto a site formerly occupied by Manor Golf Club.
The site had previously been a restaurant and part of the clubhouse and will now serve the Buddhist population of Kearsley as well as visitors and well wishers from further afield.
Cllr Paul Heslop, of One Kearsley, who represents the area on Bolton Council, said: "A lot of people want to visit Kearsley, they come from all around to visit and it seems we've got a few of these various religious places which help to bring people in.
He added: "I see it as a positive, there have never been any concerns raised by local residents about the existing temple so we'd see this as a positive move."
The plans will se the temple expand its grounds into a fomrer golf club
Cllr Heslop said that the temple was one of only two such temples in the country and as such contributed to the town's welcoming reputation
The temple was first built on the site in 2016 with the unanimous approval of Bolton councillors at the time.
This was after the local Buddhist congregation outgrew their base in a house in Wythenshaw.
The building already includes rooms for the monks to sleep in, along with bathrooms, a kitchen and a central meditation room
Now the new plans have lodged the plans to reflects the fact that golf is no longer played on the site and the grounds have already become associated with the Buddhist place of worship in the minds of local people.
The temple caters to Thai Buddhists
The expansion will see spaces for recreation, meditation, the planting of gardens and agricultural grazing.
The plans will be open for neighbourhood consultations until Friday, March 11, which will give members of the local community on Moss Lane and Trent Lane the opportunity to put their views forward.
Further related proposals will also see non-residential caravans placed at the site and the building of a garden of meditation.
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