Plan to turn convert former Wigan pub into apartment block

A former pub will be turned into flats under new plans put forward to the council.
The former Halfway HouseThe former Halfway House
The former Halfway House

Documents have been submitted to the town hall to convert the former Halfway House in Ormskirk Road, Pemberton, into eight self-contained apartments, a first floor extension to side, a two storey extension to rear together with associated parking, bin storage and communal garden.

The proposal has been put forward by Westhoughton-based M And S Project Development Ltd.

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If the project gets the green light, it will breathe a new lease of life into the 550sq metre property, which has been vacant since July 2019 when the pub closed its doors.

It was previously operated by the Toastie Taverns brewery.

A report from Wigan Council’s housing and infrastructure department said, under the authority’s parking standards the applicant would be expected to provide one car parking space per one bed flat and 1.5 car parking spaces per two bed flat, as well as one secure cycle provision per flat.

The proposal is for five one bed flats and three two bed flats and therefore, the proposal should provide nine car parking spaces.

However, the documents show that there will only be four parking spaces made available for the entire building.

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Developers who have put forward similar plans to convert former pubs into flats and Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) in recent months have also accounted for less than one parking space per flat, reasoning that their target tenants could instead rely mostly on public transport.

The report also raised concerns over a lack of safe access for pedestrians using the car park and blind spots for any vehicles reversing out of some of the parking bays.

Full details of the application can be viewed at planning.wigan.gov.uk using the reference code A/20/88805/FULL.

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