Empty five-bed Penwortham house ‘in state of disrepair’ could be demolished for apartments

Plans have gone in to South Ribble Council to demolish the property in Liverpool Road, Penwortham and replace it with a larger building of six two-bedroom flats.

The application is the latest in a series of plans for the five-bedroom house which backs onto the Orchard Grange retirement housing complex.

Earlier proposals included a similar scheme to replace the property with six two-bed flats which was refused by planners in March 2008.

The most recent involved a plan to build an additional two storeys to create a 10-bed house in multiple occupation. This was withdrawn in February last year.

A care home company based in London, has submitted the current application saying it would like to knock the house down and widen the access to the site. But it has given an assurance that all-but one of the established trees surrounding the building, which are protected, will be retained.

A planning statement submitted to the council says the house "has been unoccupied for approximately five years and is in a state of disrepair." It adds: "The proposed apartment building has been designed in a manner that is compatible with the character of the local area. Whilst the building will accommodate six apartments, it has been designed to ensure that it will appear as a detached two-storey dwelling, with all physical indicators of it comprising six apartments (e.g. communal parking and waste storage facilities) being hidden to its rear.”