Plans for more than 50 affordable homes which will see a former pub in Tameside converted into apartments have been approved by town hall chiefs.
The decision means that a new estate of 52 homes will be built on land around the former Organ Inn pub on Market Street in Hollingworth.
Part of the site is a field which was historically used as a junior playing pitch for local football club Hollingworth Juniors and Old Boys Club.
However the planning documents state this has been vacant and unused for a number of years following the club’s relocation to an alternative premises shortly after 2009.
The new development on the site will be almost entirely affordable housing, with the 52 houses offered as a mix between shared ownership and affordable rent.
The Organ Inn pub is currently in a state of ‘serious disrepair’, according to the planning documents.
While it is not listed, the developer understands that the pub is considered to be a ‘non-designated heritage asset’ by the council, which advocated that it be retained with the housing scheme.
Consequently the plans by Mulbury Homes Ltd and Equity Housing Group will see the pub converted into five apartments which are to be offered for market sale.
Access to the new housing estate is to come from Holly Bank in the south, while additional access off Water Lane will serve the residents of the ex-pub.
All of the homes will have a minimum of two parking spaces, totalling 111 across the whole site.
A planning report on behalf of the developer states that the ‘loss of the playing field is justified’ and the proposed new estate has been designed to be ‘sensitive to local character’.
“The application site is currently a wasted resource, given its highly accessible location and major social benefits that could accrue from its development,” it states.
“The site is within the settlement boundary and would represent the sustainable redevelopment of an unused site.
“Consideration has been given to the impact of the development on the built and natural environment and it is not considered that the development will give rise to any unacceptable impacts on the local highway network and matters of waste, car parking, ecology, flood risk, drainage, trees and sustainability are all well considered.”
The homes are set to be a mix of two, three and four-bedroom and are to be mainly two storey high.
As part of the planning approval by Tameside council, development on the land must begin with three years.
