PLANS to build 13 bungalows at the site of a former historical hub have been submitted.

Hilldale Housing Association have sent a planning application to Wigan Council to build the homes, which would be for supported accommodation, on the land of the old Formby Hall in Atherton.

A decision on the proposals is expected to made on March 2 next year.

Formby Hall, which was demolished in September, was sold by the council five years ago.

Residents believed it could be saved from demolition when a public inquiry was launched in April 2016.

More than 5,000 people signed an Atherton Residents Association petition to keep the bulldozers away from the hall.

However only the manner of demolition was up for debate, with the council’s planning committee not having the power to prevent an application to knock down a non-listed building from owners Formby Hall Ltd.

Campaigners claim the community venue belonged to the town and not the council and should never have been sold.