OBJECTIONS have been made against plans to turn two houses and a shop into 12 apartments, which have been described as ‘barking mad’.

The planning application for numbers 83, 85 and 87 in Wigan Road, Westhoughton, were discussed by the town council on Monday.

As part of the plans, the former retail unit’s use would be changed to residential and the two houses would be extended and converted.

There would also be associated car parking built at the rear of the development.

But members of the council were strongly opposed to the plans and recommended them for refusal.

Cllr David Wilkinson said: “This application is absolutely barking mad. It is simply daft. This is not a conversion, it is a massive rebuild.

“It is punching a hole through the building, where the shop window is, to build the driveway.

“The driveway is on a bend, Wigan Road is slightly curved and you can’t see a thing. Probably I think it is about four or five yards up to the bus stop.

“The tail-end of the bus is at the end of the driveway. The roof is sliced off and an additional floor is put in with a roof on top.

“At the back you have this massive extension that covers the yard. The car parking is at the very edge.

“It will have a massive dominating appearance to these few houses in The Welland that back onto it.

“I looked at it and thought ‘whoever thought to put this one together?’. As far as I am concerned, it is barking. It is a stupid application.”

Cllr Wilkinson proposed that the council recommended refusal on the grounds of overdevelopment and the issues with the highways and proposed access to the property from Wigan Road.

Cllr Gill Williams said: “I am sure the new flats would be very nice but there is not enough parking space and it does not look as though there is much in the way of access.

“They have got to make it much, much bigger and six spaces for 12 flats is not enough. I know they are only one-bedroom, but still.”

The town council voted unanimously to recommend the application for refusal.

A decision on the proposal will be made in the near future by Bolton Council.

For more details on the application, search for reference number 02169/17 on the planning portal at bolton.gov.uk