A NEW gym which would primarily cater for women could be built next to a council housing estate.

The vacant land off Brownlow Way in Halliwell was last home to a former mill building.

A proposal to build small "light industrial" units in Topping Street together with a local community gym facility has now been revealed by the landowners.

They decided that the most suitable use for the site was some form of commercial development, according to the planning application, and believe that their proposal is a response to local demand.

It said: "The gymnasium is to cater primarily for local female residents of the surrounding area and will provide the opportunity to enable a wide range of facilities suited for this demographic in a more comfortable and convenient location to the further afield and considerably more expensive national gym chains.

"The evenings and weekends will be when the gymnasium will be in primary use with a range of ‘women only’ classes dominating the gym agenda and timetables."

The primary daytime use of the site will be for the light industrial units and these will be available on both long and short terms tenancies.

They would be located on the ground floor of the building with the fitness and recreation facility above them.

The development will be supported by eight car parking spaces located next to the industrial units.

The proposed building would be constructed using brick with plastic-faced cladding.

The application added: "The Brownlow Way ‘corridor’ is now benefitting from the growth in confidence in the form of local investment in up-grading and construction of new housing to the west.

"This particular site however currently blights the locality but an investment of this significance will remove the blight and make a statement of confidence in the area that responds to local demand, from which will stem confidence, growth and activity."

Town hall planners are due to decide the outcome of the application by March.