A proposal has been put forward to transform a house sandwiched between two shops into a retail unit and flats.
The terraced house is on Church Street in Wingates, Westhoughton between an off licence and a tanning salon.
This follows a recent trend that has seen several similar developments were houses have been transformed into new business premises.
Cllr David Wilkinson, of Westhoughton South, said: “That’s a house which unfortunately is sandwiched between a corner shop type retailer on one side and what I would still call a beauty shop on the other.
“I have to say there are certain streets in Westhoughton, one of the top of my head is Marsden Street, where there’s almost no houses left at all and they’ve been converted into shops and businesses.”
He added: “These are often terraced houses around which, because in Westhoughton we’re holding our own, often become used as commercial spaces.”
Under the plans the house turned into a commercial unit on the ground floor and two flats on the first and second floors.
This will also include a single story extension at the back with a two metre high timber fence.
Cllr Wilkinson drew comparisons with other similar developments around the town that have seen new businesses move in to what had until then been used spaces.
He said: “We’ve had a barbers open on Wigan Road that had been an empty corner shop for years.
“They took over, did it up and spent a fair bit of money on it.
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“I think the next round of applications were likely to see will be more like this, retailers and commercial units moving into space like this.”
He added: “We’re fortunate in Westhoughton that we’ve got people prepared to put their heads above the parapet and take these units on, because whether we like it or not ultimately the market will decide whether they are successful.”
The plans were put before Bolton Council on Tuesday October 17 and will be open for neighbourhood consultations until Tuesday November 7.
The council will then aim to make a decision on the scheme by Tuesday December 12 this year.
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