Flat and office development planned for Heywood

The development of a five storey office block and flats in Heywood is set to be approved at Wednesday’s Township Planning Sub-Committee meeting (10 June).

The building will be erected on a privately owned car park, on the junction between Earl Street and Bethel Street in Heywood centre.

The ground floor of the building will be used as office units and the other four storeys will be used to accommodate 17 flats.

Car parking is not proposed in the development, in a bid to encourage people travelling to the town centre to use public transport.

The building which will have some floor to ceiling windows to give a vertical emphasis and Juliette balconies is hoped to improve the surrounding area.

Planning permission was refused for the building of a private hire taxi booking office on the site in 1999 on the grounds that the design and appearance would be inappropriate for the town centre.

The location was denied planning permission again in 2002 for the erection of a two storey building because it would result in the loss of a well used car parking facility but Council planning officers decided on this occasion that the use of the car park could be taken away by the land owners at any time and that the office and accommodation development would be more beneficial to the town centre.

It is hoped that the development would include an element of affordable housing.