Ninety three houses are set to be built at the site of a former school and church in Leigh.
The two to four bedroom properties will be built on vacant land at Richmond Drive which was once home to St Gabriel’s RC Primary School and a church.
Plans for the new homes have now been given the green light by Wigan Council – but the final details of the scheme are still being negotiated.
A quarter of the homes should be affordable according to council policy.
But the developer behind the plans had originally said that offering any affordable housing on the site would make the project financially unviable.
Keepmoat Homes also said it could not afford all the financial contributions required by the council including £230,000 towards education in the area.
The housebuilder submitted a viability assessment to support its claims but, according to a council report, an independent consultant commissioned by the local authority disputed some of the estimated building costs.
The planning officers' report reveals that Keepmoat Homes was "reluctant" to reach an agreement with the council over affordable housing as suggested.
But since then, a deal has been struck which means at least a quarter of the new properties will be available as affordable housing.
Riverside, a registered affordable housing provider based in the region, has agreed to buy 23 of the units – a mixture of two and three bedroom homes.
The developer is now negotiating the sale of a further 50 dwellings to Riverside which has proposed offering 20 units as part of a rent-to-buy scheme and the remaining 30 units would be rented at affordable rates.
This deal for 50 further homes is dependent on Riverside securing funding from the goverment's Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes programme.
Keepmoat Homes has also agreed to pay £100,000 towards a replacement sports pitch and £15,000 for off-site footpath and bridleway improvements.
A spokesperson said: “We are delighted that planning has now been approved for 93 new homes on the site of the former St Gabriel’s Catholic School.
"Keepmoat Homes has provided contributions to support the development of the replacement sports pitch, bridle path improvements and will also deliver 73 affordable homes which will be a mixture of rent to buy and affordable rent.
"Negotiations are ongoing and hopefully be completed over the next few weeks.”
