CRUMBLING blocks of flats will make way for new housing after being condemned by council bosses.

Tenants in the sheltered housing scheme at Bradford Crescent at the junction of Bradford Road and Crescent Road in Great Lever, could be moved out within months to allow bulldozers to clear the way for developers.

The 60 two-storey flats were earmarked for demolition because of rising damp and soaring maintenance costs.

Councillors voted to pull them down instead of renovating them a cost of more than £1 million.

Cllr David Wilkinson, Bolton Council's executive member for housing strategy, said: "The money which was needed to bring the flats up to an acceptable standard was a phenomenal amount and the only option was to demolish the buildings." Bolton Council is now in talks with private housing authorities to find a buyer for the land, where it is hoped new accommodation will be built.

Only around 40 of the flats are occupied and tenants have been notified of the scheme and will be rehoused in alternative accommodation. Cllr Wilkinson said: "There is a huge demand at the moment for council properties and we have had no problem filling the flats with tenants, but the fact is that we could not realistically fund the repairs to the buildings and we have had to look at an alternative.

"It's no longer viable to keep some of the flats which were built in the 1960s going because they have fallen into a state of disrepair.

"There are no firm plans in place for the site but we will be looking at all options along with housing associations who might be interested."