60 ‘affordable’ flats set to be built on former care home site next to cricket club

Around 60 flats could be built on the site of a former care home. Watson Homes has applied to Bury Council to demolish Spurr House, Pole Lane, Unsworth.

The single storey building, built in 1980, previously operated as a care home. Last year, planning permission was granted to convert the building into a pupil referral unit but those plans have not gone ahead.

At that time it was asserted that the site was ‘beginning to fall into a state of disrepair’ and there was ‘no economic use for the building in its current form’. Watson said that if demolition went ahead a second application for 60 apartments will be submitted in January, 2025 and that matter had been subject to a pre application discussions with the council.

The Spurr House site is within a predominantly residential area, with Unsworth Cricket and Tennis Club located to the south, residential development to the north and west and Unsworth Academy to the east. A covering letter with the application, said: “Watson intends to redevelop the site to deliver housing on the site in due course subject to receiving planning permission.

“To access brownfield housing funding from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, they are required to commence work on site by March 1, 2025. “To meet these timescales, Watson is applying separately for the demolition of the building and will be submitting the application for residential development in January 2025.

Join the Manchester Politics WhatsApp group here

“The clearance of the site enables the developer to access funding to facilitate the redevelopment of the site to deliver affordable housing and assist the council in their delivery of their housing requirement.” The letter said the redevelopment of the site will result in the loss of 16 trees.

Should the application be successful access to the site will be from Pole Lane. Bury Council will consider the application for demolition of the site in the coming weeks.