PLANNING chiefs are recommended to approve proposals to transform a disused timber yard in Latchford into 189 apartments this week.

Carpenter Investments’ proposals to build the apartments for private rent on the former A J Beer and Co timber yard site, on Station Road, will come before the development management committee on Wednesday.

The 1.75-hectare site is bordered by the Manchester Ship Canal and sits adjacent to Cantilever Bridge.

It first became a timber yard in 1965 but has been vacant since 2006.

The associated works include cycle storage, bin storage, a substation and car parking for 232 cars on site.

If approved, three five-storey apartment blocks would be built.

The proposals include 39 one-bed properties, 138 two-bed properties and 12 three-bed properties.

Twelve letters of objection have been submitted by residents, with concerns raised over the height of the development, potential increase in traffic, not enough parking and an excessive number of units.

In addition, the scheme fails to fulfil the planning policy requirement of delivering 20 per cent of affordable housing.

In a planning statement, council officers said: “The application has been submitted with a viability assessment and this has been independently assessed by the District Valuation Office.

“The conclusions reached in the viability report were that the site is not viable with the required planning obligations.

“The lack of affordable units and lack of planning obligations has to be weighed against the benefit of the site being delivered for housing.

“It is not considered that the lack of affordable units and planning obligations is an adverse impact that would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of delivering housing on this site.”

The scheme is being recommended for approval, subject to conditions.

The officers added: “With the proposed conditions, the parking and access arrangements are deemed to be acceptable and, therefore, it is not considered that the proposal would cause an unacceptable impact on highways safety or have a severe impact on the highway impact.”