PLANS have been lodged to build eight homes on the site of the former Haslingden police station.

The developers’ intention is to demolish the current building and its associated communications mast and compound.

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There was a public outcry by residents when the station on Manchester Road was closed following cost-saving cuts unveiled by the police in 2011.

Rossendale Police Station in Waterfoot is now the only fully operational station in the borough, with a ‘shop front’ service provided in Bacup and Whitworth.

The building was put up for sale last year by Lancashire Police.

They listed it at a reserve price £130,000 and it was described by auction house Pugh as ‘a former police station on a rectangular shaped site containing a mast and compound’.

It was sold at auction at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium last February for £185,000.

The planning proposal, produced by Equilibrium Architects Ltd on behalf of owner Bajit Singh, suggests a development of eight homes.

Their report states: “It will consist of six three-bedroom dwellings in a terrace layout and two, two-bedroom dwellings in a semi-detached layout.

“We will create a terraced type frontage along Hazeldene Avenue and a pair of semi detached dwellings on the Manchester Road elevation.”

They said the scheme would mean the loss of existing trees on site but that would be mitigated by new trees planted near Manchester Road.

They state that the facing materials would be similar and complement those seen on nearby homes and Haslingden Primary School.

Councillor Granville Morris, who represents the area on Rossendale Council, said he felt the community would like to have seen the police force re-invest in Haslingden.

He said: “Of course the ideal outcome would have been for the town to still have a police station.

“I also think that after gaining a tidy sum for the property at auction that could have been invested in having some kind of police presence here.

“Possibly a shop type station or drop-in point manned by officers.

“That said it probably makes sense for a sympathetic development to make use of the land.”

“At the moment it is being used as unofficial car parking and the longer the building remains empty it will be prone to dereliction and vandalism.

“I also hope if it goes ahead, the homes built are affordable to those who wish to live here as we need more housing built in the area.” Councillors will decide on the plan next month.