Plan revealed for historic ex-care home
AFORMER care home in Littleborough could turned into a large home, with six smaller new homes in its grounds.
Planning officers at Rochdale Borough Council are set to debate on the application for the former Honresfeld care home, on Halifax Road, Littleborough at a Planning and Licensing Committee meeting on Friday.
The application intends to demolish an existing bungalow and build six new detached houses.
The care home, which closed in 2016, has extensions from the 1980s and 90s adjoining it which will be demolished, however a Section 106 has been put in place to protect the existing historic features, as they are “important to the building’s historical significance.”
The building dates from 1873 and was built in a
Gothic style typical of mid Victorian villas and internally contains a number of original features including timber panelling, original ceilings, floors, fireplaces, stonework and other details.
The house has previously been targeted by lead thieves who caused £250,000 worth of damage in 2018.
Thieves also stole copper piping, wiring and brass fixtures and fittings from inside the 26-bedroom home.
The house was built by wealthy mill owners the Law family and was home to Sir Alfred Law Conservative MP for Rochdale from 1918 to 1922.
Councillor for Littleborough Lakeside and Portfolio Holder for a Safer and Inclusive Community, Janet Emsley, supports the application in order to preserve the original features.
A group of people who live in the area also put together a 30-strong petition for the development to go ahead.
Coun Emsley said: “It does fall within the green belt and it was already developed.
“Local people have got together a petition for it to go ahead.
“It was an old Cheshire home set in its own grounds and it has a lot of beautiful features.
“As it was a care home it had a lot of extensions that are in disrepair.
“It’s not about the green belt, the main focus is the old house and developing the rest of the site retaining the heritage building.
“It’s all turn of the century.” The proposed homes for the grounds include a four-bedroom house, and six five-bedroom homes.
The five-bed houses would also have either a double or triple garage.
The application has been resubmitted after the applicant addressed previous issues, and it is now recommended that officers approve the application.
However, the application is situated in the Green Belt, and the application is considered to represent “inappropriate development” within the Green Belt, according to planning officers .
Local planning authorities must ensure “substantial weight is given to any harm to the Green Belt and ‘Very Special Circumstances’ will not exist unless the potential harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations.”