PLANS have been submitted to Bury Council to transform a Georgian-style villa in Prestwich into five new flats.

The property on Butterstile Lane, which is thought to have been built between 1840 and 1890, is within the St Mary’s Park Conservation Area and overlooks Prestwich Clough.

The application is seeking to remodel and further subdivide the existing two storey two flat semi detached dwelling into five apartments, including one in the basement.

A number of extensions and outhouses would be demolished if the proposals were accepted.

In a design and access statement, the applicant, said: "The property has been poorly extended and rendered over the years and now appears to face the wrong way onto Butterstile Lane.

"The frontage to the street was originally the rear servant/service side of the property and the formal Georgian double fronted main entrance is to the rear of the site.

"The house is rough rendered with slate roof and stone features common to the conservation area, though these have been painted. The adjacent property has been similarly unsympathetically updated.

"To the rear the original grounds have been reduced to a gravel yard used for parking, with only one original large tree still present."

The plan proposes to keep the original structure of the old house as well as original internal features, including chimney breasts, coving and skirting.

"The proposed demolition of the newer extensions and the re-terracing of the frontage will tidy up what has become a very messy and dilapidated frontage and provide a smart new amenity for the property," added the statement.

"There are many other properties in the area that have been rendered and have grey window frames and this proposal is more likely to improve the roadside elevation, than take away any of the architectural heritage that is left of this property."