A former Failsworth club built around two and a half centuries ago is to be turned into apartments after approval by Oldham Council.

The Grade-II listed Failsworth Lodge, or Lancaster Club, was described as 'the best house in the township' when it was built in 1770.

An old application in relation to the site was approved in 2016, but this permission lapsed.

But a new application submitted towards the end of last year was approved on August 2.

Off Broadway, at the entrance to Bellway Homes' Lancaster Gardens estate, the site has seen a number of uses throughout its history.

Initially in more than 20 acres of grounds, the rest of which are now lost, it was as a house in the 18th century. Early in the next century, it was a school.

In the 20th century, the site was purchased by Roy Dobson, an important character in the development of AV Roe, or Avro.

Dobson opened what was then Failsworth Lodge as club for workers called the Avro Club, or the Lancaster Club for one of the manufacturer's most iconic aircraft. 

Grade-II listed in the 1970s, the site is now unused and surrounded by homes after Bellway Homes built its Lancaster Gardens estate.

The Oldham Times:

The application is understood to be independent of this development, which was last year branded by some residents as a 'nightmare'.

Now this application is approved, the site is to be turned into apartments on three storeys, with additions like a gym in the basement.

Oldham Council accepted the applicant's suggestion that the development was a better idea than leaving it to deteriorate more than it has already.

The application reads: "The proposed development represents an opportunity to bring an underutilised building back into active and positive use, and to ensure its sustainable and viable future."