A BID to build three blocks of shared apartments behind houses and near the hospital has been refused – 12 years after the developer bought the land.

Plans to build the four-storey blocks on a disused railway line off Minerva Road in Farnworth, first revealed in 2018, have been refused by Bolton Council.

The three blocks, comprising of 12 two-bedroom apartments and 18 five-bedroom shared multiple occupancy units, would have been located next to Royal Bolton Hospital and the new £30m Bolton College of Medical Science.

Developer Dorbcrest Homes had hoped the future residents of the building would be hospital staff or students attending the forthcoming college.

But the planning committee voted against the proposal – citing concerns it would change the character of the area – with only one councillor supporting the plans for the site he described as a “key worker development opportunity”.

This comes after two residential schemes for the site failed to progress.

Planning agent Paul Sedgwick explained that difficulties of building on the land, which has a mine shaft nearby, have led to delays in developing the site.

He said: “The form of development now proposed is a response to the difficulties in developing the site that the applicants have experienced since acquiring it 12 years ago.

“They do not welcome having hold of a site that they cannot economically develop and that is the reason for this application and why no progress has been made on the site to date.”

Peter Brabin, who lives nearby in Boscobel Road, told the committee that the previous plans approved in 2016, for 17 three-bedroom houses and 12 two-bedroom flats, would still be the “ideal” development scenario for the site.

The “active community champion”, who said he is concerned about the “deteriorating conditions” of the area, spoke at a virtual meeting on Thursday.

He said: “The neighbourhood will be negatively impacted by the current proposal which is different from the original plans for the site due to economic benefits for the developer, this is at the expense of the community.”

Harper Green councillor Sue Haworth also objected to the application.

She said that despite the developer saying the shared accommodation would be for doctors, professionals and students, there were no guarantees of this.

The ward councillor also highlighted concerns about added traffic in the area.

She said: “The traffic  is a matter for all citizens in the borough and for every council ward, because the NHS in particular serves the whole borough.

“Four-storey buildings will add to this congestion on Minerva Road.”

The planning committee voted against the application by 16 votes to 1.

The applicant will now have six months to appeal the decision.