A plan to build a house over land that had been “left in the wilderness” has been given the go-ahead.
The proposal aimed to build the family home on land off Eskrick Street in Halliwell that has been vacant for around 15 years.
Members of Bolton Council’s planning committee heard how people living nearby had long been alarmed at the state of the area.
Cllr Kevin Morris, of Halliwell, said: “Residents are fed up with the land being in the state it's in.”
He added: “The land has been in the wilderness for far too long, 15 years in the wilderness.”
“It’s much-needed investment in the ward.”
Years ago, the site had been occupied by a pub before its long period of vacancy and a previous bid had aimed to build six houses over it.
Although this previous plan had been given approval, the land still went undeveloped.
Cllr Morris said: “The development will improve the appearance of the ward.”
He added: “We don’t want this, if this application doesn’t go through, left for another 10 to 15 years.”
No one living nearby had objected to the plan, but Bolton Council officers had recommended that the scheme be refused on the grounds that it would be “an incongruous addition to the street.”
They also said that it would be “detrimental to the character and appearance of the area.”
But the committee members heard that the house will be built for a “local businessman” for himself and his family and will include six bedrooms.
They also felt it would be a better use of the land than leaving it unoccupied as Cllr Morris had warned.
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Cllr David Wilkinson, of Westhoughton South, said the site “looks like the Black Death” based on the posts he had seen, and he hoped the development would improve it.
He said: “This is an opportunity to get rid of something.
“Yes, it’s a big house but so what? We’ve got big houses all over the shop.”
The committee members voted unanimously to approve the bid, subject to conditions that they delegated to council officers.
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