A £1m town centre makeover and hundreds more homes planned for three Greater Manchester boroughs are the biggest planning developments table this week.

If everything gets the green light, St Mary’s Way in Oldham’s town centre could be set to get a huge rejuvenation. What was called a ‘scary street’ could soon see safer cycle tracks, upgraded bus stops and more greenery.

Over in Tameside, an old power station within Stalybridge could soon be transformed into a huge country park as well as a housing development. 

A new apartment building with 71 new homes has been planned next to Langworth tram stop, which could have karaoke and a games room. A golf club in Stockport is facing an uncertain future after Hollins Strategic Land lodged plans to build 278 homes on the land in Gatley – ruling that the site was no longer “economically viable”.

 Here is a breakdown of each borough’s submitted planning applications this week…

Bolton

Coffee shop with ‘huge glass frontage’ planned for former florists

A former florist on the outskirts of Bolton is set to become a coffee shop and meeting room. Plans have been submitted to convert the former Diddybox florists premises at the crossroads of Belmont Road, Bar Lane and Broad O’Th’ Lane in Astley Bridge.

The premises are currently vacant. The application, from Three Planks Coffee Co Ltd states ‘we would like to open a café and coffee shop with internal seating’.

Bury

Council’s plan to sell-off playing fields for school development provokes public backlash

A council’s plans to sell off playing fields in order to build a special school have sparked a public outcry.

Bury Council intends to release a significant chunk of the Redvales recreation fields for development. Those opposing the sale say the area has been used by the public for sport and outdoor leisure for generations.

A proposal set to be voted on by the council’s cabinet on Wednesday (September 4) allows for the sale of around 30 per cent of the current council managed Redvales playing fields (3.8 acres).

Golf club needs to reconfigure course due to £340M motorway widening project at Simister Island

A golf club is set to reconfigure its course due to a massive motorway widening scheme around Simister island.

Pike Fold in Unsworth bills itself as north Manchester’s premier golf club due to its professional standard greens. But a proposed carriageway widening and realignment of the M66, M62 and M60 means the motorway would come to close to some of the current playing area meaning a range of changes to the course.

National Highways have proposed a new free-flow link (northern loop) from the M60 eastbound to M60 southbound carriageways at Simister. They also plan to realign the M66 southbound carriageway on the approach to the junction.

Manchester 

It was the heart of its north Manchester estate… now it needs demolishing after ‘vandalism by squatters’

A north Manchester pub which was at the centre of its estate needs to be demolished after being ‘vandalised by squatters’.

The Jolly Miller, on Fernclough Road in Harpurhey, is believed to have last opened in 2015; an ill-fated short-term bid to revitalise its fortunes. The establishment is understood to have first closed permanently in late 2013.

Now, Manchester City Council is moving to demolish the watering hole in order to build ‘affordable housing’ in the future, a planning application has revealed.

Oldham

The £1million project that could transform a ‘scary’ street in Oldham

A street in Oldham could soon see an almost £1m makeover to make it safer and ‘more enjoyable’ for cyclists and pedestrians. 

A plan has been put forward for St Mary’s Way in the town centre to add safer cycle tracks, upgraded bus stops and more greenery. The changes are supposed to improve access to the town centre on the street that has been described as ‘scary’ by a cycling commuter.

Councillor Arooj Shah said the project, named ‘Streets for All’, ‘is another step’ in a commitment to transforming the town centre.

Rochdale

There are no new significant planning applications submitted to Rochdale Council this week.

Salford

Plans for 71 new apartments in building with karaoke and games room

Plans have been shared for up to 71 homes in a Salford building, which could have karaoke and a games room. 

Based on the corner of Eccles New Road and South Langworthy Road, the proposal by Beech Holdings is close to Langworthy Metrolink stop and a 20-minute walk from Salford Quays. It includes plans for a ten-storey ‘co-living’ apartment complex, which lowers down to four storeys further along Eccles New Road.

Bosses behind the scheme say the co-living experience will offer residents homes as well as shared facilities such as a co-working area and study space, a gym, karaoke room, library, and games room. 

Stockport

Historic golf club facing a new £100,000 fight for its future

Gatley Golf Club has taken up 18 hectares of grassland and woods off Styal Road since 1912 – forming part of its community for more than 100 years. 

Surrounded by local housing, the Stockport club was facing an uncertain future after Hollins Strategic Land lodged plans to build 278 homes on the land, ruling that the site was no longer “economically viable.” After campaigners opposed the plans, the application was knocked back during a tense meeting of Stockport council’s planning committee in February – in a ruling decided by just two votes. 

At the time, the plan sparked a petition to “save” the golf club from development. But the refusal has now been appealed to the government’s Planning Inspector (PI), which has the power to overturn the decision. 

Tameside

Huge country park and housing development could soon be built in Greater Manchester

The future of a vacant green space that was once occupied by a former coal-fired power station in Stalybridge could be decided next week.

The old Hartshead Power Station and Millbrook Sidings is set to be replaced by a huge new community park and a 162-home development. Casey Group Limited will need to convince the planning panel meeting at Guardsman Tony Downes House in Droylsden on September 11 if they want to see their vision come to fruition.

The site itself sits within the greenbelt and currently has remnants of the former industrial uses including exposed culverts and drains, disused buildings and structures, piles of rubble and concrete slabs and isolated contamination.

Trafford

There are no new significant planning applications submitted to Trafford Council this week.

Wigan

Disused gym could become HMO and apartments

Plans to convert a disused gym into two houses of multiple occupation (HMO) for 14 people alongside six apartments in Wigan have been submitted.

The building on Warrington Lane, close to the town centre, is the former headquarters of the Sea Cadets, but has more recently been used as a gym and physiotherapy hub as JB Fitness. Plans would see the building converted into two residential units comprising seven beds each, and a separate area for six flats – two one-bed and four two-bed. 

The HMO would be accessed separately off Warrington Lane with the apartments having their own individual entrances.