Bolton Road, Kearsley nursery to become 10 bed HMO

The plans to convert what had once been the family owned L'ecole des Enfants nursery on Bolton Road, Kearsley into a house in multiple occupation were first lodged in October last year.

There are also plans for up to five parking spaces at what will be the new shared house.

Cllr Debbie Newall, of Kearsley, said: "HMOs like this are always a concern to residents as they worry about the effect on the locality, but I am more than happy to work with both residents and the owners if necessary to deal with any problems that may arise in the future.

“Parking is a massive issue for the residents of Park View, at the rear of this property and also that part of Bolton Road but I believe that this property has designated parking spaces which have been considered in the planning report.”

The plans have now been approved (Image: HAD & Co)

The house had previously been converted from a manse, a home for certain kinds of religious ministers, into a children’s day nursery in 2008.

More recently a scheme had been put forward to transform the building into a sanctuary family assessment centre, which did not come to fruition.

Bolton Council officials approved the most recent proposal to transform the former nursery into a shared house after concluding it would not have an “undue” effect in the area’s character.

This was despite 10 letters of objection having been sent in from people living nearby raising concerns including parking, road safety and the lack of bins.

But the developers agreed to reduce the planned number of bedrooms from 11 to 10 on the advice of Bolton Council officers.

A council report said: “The proposal is for the conversion of a former dwelling in a residential area into an HMO.

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“HMOs have the potential to provide more affordable housing for individuals via a shared costs model.

“The application site is located on a main arterial route and is well connected by public transport.”

It added: “While the comings and goings to the property may increase slightly, it is not considered that the increase would be so great as to result in an undue impact on neighbouring amenity.”

Bolton Council announced that it had approved the scheme on Tuesday July 2.