A CARE home under construction in Worsley where an historic pub once stood is expected to be completed and officially opened by the end of the year.

The former Cock Hotel in Walkden Road, which dates back to the 1600s and is famous for being the home of a beer-swilling swine, has now been demolished.

Work on a new £15m care facility started last August and is on track to be completed in November with the official opening planned for later this year.

The name of the new facility has now been confirmed as Bridgewater Manor.

Plans to create an additional bedroom at the facility, taking the total to 71, was approved by Salford council’s planning panel on Thursday.

Council planners told the panel that construction of the care facility, which was granted permission in March last year, is already at a ‘very advanced stage’.

An official said: “What this application effectively does is to convert what was intended to be a store room into an additional bedroom. So a very simple alteration to an already consented scheme.”

Principal contractor McGoff Construction is managing the build programme.

The grave of Polly the pig, an ale-supping local legend buried at the Worsley watering hole, has been protected and kept in place in line with the company’s commitment.