REVISED plans to build homes on the site of the former Old Cottage Hospital in Haydock have been given the nod.

Last year proposals for the creation of 36 apartments, including engineering works for an underground car park, at the location were met with an outcry from residents.

The planning application received more than 30 letters of objection with worries over an excessive number of apartments and the level of street parking they would have created. Proposals were subsequently withdrawn last October, with the applicant advised to discuss amendments with a council planning officer ahead of any resubmission

An alternative bid to build five dwellings at the location on Clipsley Lane, which was submitted in March, has now been approved by St Helens Council.

The development will see the creation of five two-storey homes, three which will be situated at the front of the site facing Clipsley Lane along with two semi-detached dwellings facing Poplar Road.

Each property will have parking and a front and back garden. A large portion of the existing wall be retained, with gates repositioned to enclose the area and maintain some of the original character of the site.

One birch tree, to the front of Poplar Road, will be removed to accommodate the development.

The former Old Cottage Hospital was bulldozed last year and dated back to the 1880s.

In passing the plans, the council stated work must begin within three years.