Bolton: Flats above Deansgate Cash Converters approved

The proposal was lodged at the end of July and will see five flats created above the retailer on Deansgate.

A Bolton Council report claimed projects like this, which at first proposed six flats instead of five, could help the borough go some way to meeting its housing needs.

It said: “It is acknowledged that the council is not able to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites.

“This represents a housing shortfall.”

The plans have now been approved (Image: Bolton Council)

It added: “The proposed development of six apartments to the borough's housing supply would be a positive albeit small social and economic contribution and therefore it is considered that some weight can be given to this benefit.”

The new flats will be made up of a mixture of one and two bedrooms, while the basement and ground floor on the Deansgate building will remain the same.

The proposal was supported by Cllr Richard Silvester, who represents the Queens Park and Central area, who said when it was first lodged this summer that it would help provide more housing on brownfield land in the town centre.

But he expressed concern at the time about where bins for the new flats would be stored and stressed that they should not be allowed to block public highways.

Council officers have since examined the site and concluded that a development like this will not have a harmful effect on the nearby area.

The report said: “It is considered that each flat would have a bathroom, storage and sufficient windows to provide a good standard of natural light and outlook.

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“It is therefore considered that the layout of the apartments is adequate and considered acceptable.”

It added: “No outdoor amenity space is proposed as part of this development.

“The site is located close to Bolton town centre and Queens Park, close to large amounts of amenities which could justify the lack of private outdoor amenity space.

“It is also noted that secure bike storage and sufficient communal waste storage is provided at ground floor level to the rear.”