NEW semi-detached dwellings which could be built on undeveloped land in Farnworth would be let as “affordable rent” homes by a housing association.

A total of six two-bedroom houses could be built on the unused site in Barton Road, Farnworth.

The properties are intended to be let by Bolton at Home at “affordable” rates.

The proposal promises to provide comfortable, good-sized, two-bedroom houses with low running costs and low maintenance requirements.

Developer Amro Construction claims the houses could operate with no heating costs for 80 per cent of the year.

There would be no gas bills and the electricity costs of running these houses would be low for the house type and location, according to the application.

It said: “The design focus is for low energy usage, low carbon emission, comfortable family homes with low running costs.

“Modern issues of fuel poverty, cramped living spaces, environmental damage and lack of sustainability will be addressed through the use of technology and modern construction techniques.

“Large gas heating systems are a design failure, along with condensation, noise pollution, house fires & stale air.

“Failure also occurs when occupants are too hot or too cold, presented with large heating bills and living in cramped spaces with no storage.

“All this has been designed out.”

The internal area of each two-bedroom property will be 81 square metres.

The properties would feature storage space, a utility room and a downstairs toilet.

Bolton at Home has confirmed the local need for this specific property type.

The land surrounding the site has seen significant industrial and residential development since the 1850s, according to the application, although no notable changes have taken place since the 1990s.

The site is now vacant and has been cleared of fly tipping and vegetation.

In the late nineteenth century, a single residential property with outbuildings occupied the western part of the land but the eastern part of the site has always remained unoccupied and undeveloped, the application said.

In the 1970s the property now listed as 90 Barton Road was demolished.

Around 1990 an outbuilding was built on the northern boundary of the site but by 2010 the building had been demolished.

Council officers are due to decide the outcome of the planning application by early July.