A FORMER bank will be converted into a new Bolton Hospice shop.

Bolton Council has given the hospice the green light to transform the old HSBC branch in Hillview Road, Astley Bridge, into a replacement for its existing shop in Blackburn Road.

The council’s planning office said: “The proposal would bring a vacant unit back into active use thus improving the overall appearance of the site and wider area providing additional activity in the local area.”

The hospice had argued that it was necessary for them to move sites because of parking and loading restrictions at the Blackburn Road shop, limiting opportunities to increase its income.

Other hospice shops are located in Bolton town centre, Bury Road, Chorley Old Road, Farnworth, Horwich, Tonge Moor Road, Westhoughton, Little Lever, Chorley New Road, and Manchester Road.