A large empty office space is now set to be brought back into use “24 hours a day after being vacant since last autumn.

The former Royal Bank of Scotland offices at The Parklands in Horwich have been empty since the banking company moved out last November.

But plans have since been put forward to change the ground floor into storage space with a single storey “link” extension which have now been given the go-ahead by Bolton Council.

A council report said: “The proposal includes a single storey link with the application property and the adjacent multi-storey car park.

“The proposed link would be minimal in scale and would not have any impact on the character of the existing building and the surrounding commercial area.

Bolton Council has approved the planBolton Council has approved the plan (Image: Newsquest)

“The proposed plans show the new link would be constructed of profiled metal cladding in merlin grey and double-glazed windows in keeping with the main building and it is considered to be in keeping with the context of the site.”

The proposals to change the use of the building were put forward on Wednesday June 12 this year with Bolton Council announcing that they had approved the bid on Thursday August 1.

The scheme had been put forward by the Emmerson Group who argued that it would help the existing self-storage business to expand.

They said that this existing business is found on the ground floor of the next-door storey car park and that the proposed single storey link aims to give across to the ground floor of Parklands 3.

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This, they say, will give customers access to existing entrance to the self-storage business, rather than the office entrance of Parklands 3.

The developers said that while there are no parking spaces inside the application site, there are more than 1,000 spaces in front of the building and in the multi-storey car park next door.

Bolton Council’s report says that the proposed new use as a self-storage and office facility will operate for 24 hours a day.

The authority’s highways department had already said that they hoped the planned new use of the building would reduce traffic and the demand for parking in the area.