9:37am Thursday 24th July 2008
By Nafeesa Shan
THE new owners of a former care home want to turn the site into apartments.
Planning permission was granted for Astley House, Whitehall Road, Darwen, to be converted into housing – provided a replacement care home was included on the site.
But now Manchester-based developer Madison Commercial has asked for that condition to be dropped so the building can be converted solely into nine apartments.
The conversion would include four one- bedroomed flats and five two-bedroomed flats, with 12 parking spaces at the back of the property.
Astley House, was run by Brightcrest Ltd which shut the home suddenly in May 2007 blaming debts of almost £300,000. The move caused contro-versy as elderly residents were given just six hours’ notice bef-ore they had to move out.
The home was put up for sale for £1.3million shortly afterwards.
Brightcrest Ltd leased the property from landlords Jason Management Ltd, which was owned by Brightcrest Ltd’s majority shareholder, Professor Mohammed Iqbal Memon.
In 2005, Jason Management Ltd successfully applied to Blackburn with Darwen Council to create nine apartments and build a new 36-bedroom nursing home.
Permission was granted but the council said the firm could not convert the apartments until a new nursing home was built.
Council bosses said the flats could create an over-supply of housing in the borough.
When the permission was granted, the council was under strict Government orders to allow the building of a maximum of 489 properties per year.
In the latest application, Madison Commercial said: “Given all the changed circumstances it is clear that the retention of the condition can no longer be justified.
“In the current circumstances the issue of over-supply simply does not arise, the removal of the condition would not involve a further planning permission for further housing.”
Madison Commercial is arguing that national government changes mean there is no longer a bar on the number of properties that can be built or developed in a single year and this would no longer affect the council’s supply of housing across the borough.
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