A plan to turn a house into a care home for children was approved by Bolton Council in spite of opposition from more than 20 residents.

The applicant, Social Care Services Group Ltd, applied for planning permission for a site on Staton Avenue, Tonge Fold, two months ago.

Its plan is to turn a house into a care home for children in the care of the local authority which would be its twelfth care home for children in the area of Greater Manchester.

There is opposition from more than 20 residents who wrote to the council out of concern over a number of issues, from the impact on parking problems to property prices, but there is support from the council's children's services team who said the area of Greater Manchester is in need of "good-quality children's homes".

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They said: "Children's Services met with the director and are satisfied they have the drive and desire to provide good quality children's homes within Bolton for Bolton children.

"The company proposing to open the home is well-established across Greater Manchester as a reputable provider who has selected Bolton to open a home and to continue to grow relationships with Children's Services. The company proposing to open the home has an extensive track record of providing good quality children's homes across Greater Manchester and it works well in conjunction with all 10 local authorities."

Due to the opposition from residents the application for planning permission was in need of consideration by the Planning Committee when it met at the town hall on February 22.

Emily Mort, a councillor for Tonge with the Haulgh, appealed to the committee to refuse it but the committee approved it unanimously after it did not share in Cllr Mort's concerns.

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David Grant, a councillor for Horwich South, said: "We see a few of these come up from time to time and for me it is about looking at the provider. The provider is reputable and it is not some footballer looking to feather his pension pot," Cllr Grant added, in a reference to the approval of a children's home last year in Westhoughton.

Anne Galloway, a councillor for Heaton, Lostock and Chew Moor, said: "It is a provider established for over 30 years and as we have heard at the budget we are desperate for in-borough placements because all of our council tax is going to out-of-borough placements and for those reasons I would approve this children's home."

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.