A FORMER court building is set to be turned into flats with new townhouses to be built on site.

The building in Tenters Street, last used as a magistrates' court, has the approval of councillors to be converted into housing.

A total of 22 one-bedroom and 17 two-bedroom apartments are planned.

There will also be 10 new townhouses built at the town centre site.

The planning committee gave the green light for the new housing development to go ahead at the town hall this week.

During the meeting, it was revealed that the building could have been converted into a school or religious establishment without needing planning permission.

Highways boss Dave Giblin told the committee that although the area, which is located near three schools, is already congested at certain times, new residents will not impact traffic too much.

The proposed development features 65 parking spaces, including two disabled bays and four electric vehicle charging points.

He said: “From a transport point of view we have no objections”

The committee was also told that due to the high costs associated with converting a building, the developer might not be able to make financial contributions towards local infrastructure.

Planning policy states that for a development of this size, the housebuilder would be required to contribute more than £86,000 towards recreation facilities in the area as part of a Section 106 agreement.

In addition to this, a quarter of the total number of residential units would need to be "affordable".

However, Welcome Estates, the company behind the project, submitted an independently-assessed report which concluded that the development would not be economically viable with these planning obligations attached.

Planning officer Helen Leach explained that national guidelines allow for profits of 15 to 20 per cent for developers but this project is expected to generate between seven and eight per cent profit.

Town hall officers will negotiate an "overage" clause which will allow the council to "claw back" some money from the development if profits exceed current estimates.

She said: “The viability appraisal is an estimate of the costs together with the price of the land. In terms of costs with a conversion, that can differ significantly. We’ll look at and assess the actual costs and the actual sales values."

Councillors on the committee agreed to defer responsibility for these negotiations to the development manager who will aim to sign the agreement within a "reasonable" period of time.

Once the development is complete, the council will look at receipts and sales contracts to assess whether it can ask the developer to make any Section 106 contributions at a later stage.

Cllr Richard Gold expressed his disappointment at the prospect of no financial contributions.

He said: "I’m always unhappy when we don’t get Section 106 [money] because I know how much it boosts the local area."

The planning committee unanimously approved the planning application subject to the completion of a Section 106 agreement.

The residential scheme, by Prestwich-based developer Cassel & Fletcher, will allow for the conversion of the former court building, which was closed in 2018 by the Ministry of Justice.

There will also be 10 separate three-bedroom dwellings built to provide large family homes for local people.

Cassel & Fletcher acquired the building in July 2018 from Homes England. The company will also be the lead contractor on the scheme and work is expected to start in March.

Commenting on Bury Council’s decision to approve the scheme, Gideon Levene, director at Cassel & Fletcher said: “This is a great opportunity to bring the former magistrates building back to life and increase the housing provision for local people. We specialise in refurbishing derelict properties and creating desirable new homes in great locations and this building is in a superb central spot in the heart of Bury town centre. We are delighted that we have now secured planning and are looking forward to making an immediate start using the skilled local labour force wherever possible.”

Development and construction firm Cassel & Fletcher is a family-run business which was established over 50 years ago in Salford. It is now developing properties across the North West and into Yorkshire.

The company previously converted the Ribblesdale Medical Centre in Bury town centre to apartments and has other apartment schemes in Rochdale, South Manchester and Bradford.

The design team includes MDA Architecture, BMC Structural Engineer an M&E consultants EDP.