A former bank is set to be converted into apartments less than three years after plans to turn it into a bar and flats were given the go-ahead.

A proposal has been approved to turn the former Royal Bank of Scotland branch on Rochdale Road in Shaw into seven one-bedroom apartments.

The property was put up for sale in September 2022 for £250,000, just over a year after an application to make the former bank, which closed in 2019, into a bar and house in multiple occupation (HMO) was approved.

In May 2021, an applicant was given the green light to develop the drinking establishment and HMO, however the property was then listed on Rightmove a year later, with the approved planning permission.

The property was bought and new plans were submitted to make the building entirely residential, with two flats on the ground floor, three on the first floor and two on the second floor.

Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to The Oldham Times’ morning and evening newsletters as well as our breaking news alerts 

Along with a bedroom, each apartment will have a kitchen and lounge area, as well as a bathroom.

According to an application report prepared by Oldham Council planning officer Sophie Leech, the only external alterations to be made to the building will see the installation of six windows above the arches.

In her concluding comments, Ms Leech said the conversion of the building would offer "economic and social benefit" by "providing smaller, affordable accommodation for residents in the borough whilst also being within a sustainable location".

As part of the development's conditions, residents can only begin to occupy the apartments once a scheme to protect them from the noise of the adjacent working men's club, The Cartshaft, has been submitted and approved by the planning authority.

A scheme to install and odour extraction system at the adjacent takeaway, Mamma Pizza, must also be approved, along with a scheme to protect future residents from the noise of the takeaway.