IT has been hailed as an historic moment for the town.

Bolton Council is to have its first new council houses built for 20 years.

Councillors gave the £2 million scheme, in Hamilton Court, Little Lever, the green light on Thursday.

The project, made possible by £1 million of government cash, will see 17 homes built in the New Year.

Cllr Linda Thomas told the planning committee: “It is quite an historic moment and I think the homes look quite aesthetically pleasing.”

More than 50 councils applied for government cash to build new homes earlier this year. The council is working on plans to develop more social housing and wants 300 more homes built across the borough before the end of the financial year.

Cllr Anthony Connell said old housing in Hamilton Court was demolished at the start of the year.

He added: “The best we could hope for then was social housing. Now we are actually building council houses.”

The houses — six semi-detached, one detached and 10 two-bedroom apartments — come as part of a countrywide £127 million investment in social housing.

A letter was also read out on behalf of Cllr Sean Hornby, who is a ward councillor for Little Lever, pledging his support for the housing.

Cllr Thomas suggested local schoolchildren could name the new estate.

History buff Cllr Connell also lifted the lid on the origins of the name, Hamilton Court.

The old housing was close to Nelson Street and the former Mayor of Bolton revealed that Lady Emma Hamilton was the mistress of Admiral Horatio Nelson.

The council is currently developing a number of other housing schemes in conjunction with housing associations, including Contour Housing and Places for People. But the properties in Hamilton Court will be the first that the authority has built and retained ownership of in more than two decades.