A building containing a Premier Store and a Post Office is up for a conversion into a huge HMO.

The applicant, Vinod Rabadia, applied for planning permission for Pindoria Superstore last week.

The building between Gilnow Road and Back Gilnow Road contains a Premier Store and a Post Office neither of which would be closed but they would be within a smaller section of the site.

The application contains six bedrooms for 12 tenants on the ground floor and six bedrooms for 12 tenants on the lower ground floor taking the total to a huge 12-bedroom, 24-capacity HMO.

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There would be a kitchen area and a living area on the ground floor and a kitchen area and a living area on the lower ground floor with all of them above minimum space standards and, although there is no outdoor space on the site, there is a lot of outdoor space across the road at Queens Park.

The first floor is already some accommodation for the applicant and it is not a part of the application.

The application said: "It is proposed that the HMO will be proposed to the student population due to the proximity of the site to the University of Bolton.

"The site is approximately 750 metres from College Way and from the main areas of the university."

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Richard Silvester, a councillor for the area, said: "The officers in the Planning Department will consider all of the information and they will come to a conclusion about it.

"I do not like the fact we are getting more and more HMOs which are a cheap housing option, however, if everything complies with the standards there is little I can do."

In Bolton, a conversion into an HMO is in need of planning permission from the council if it involves more than six tenants or if it involves other changes such as a change of use or an extension. Separately, a conversion into an HMO is in need of a licence from the council if it involves more than four tenants.

There is a consultation on the Bolton Council website and the deadline for a decision by Bolton Council is on December 2.

For information on HMOs go to bolton.gov.uk/private-rented-owner-occupied-housing/houses-multiple-occupation-hmos/.

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