PLANS to turn a former retirement home in Oswaldtwistle into low-cost apartments will be submitted to Hyndburn Council in January.

Lancashire County Council sold Peel Court as an investment property because it no longer suited the requirements of a retirement home.

Since then the developer has been working with Hyndburn Council's planning department to find a use for the site.

Plans to turn it into a nursery were rejected, as were proposals for six retail units with flats above.

But a need for affordable housing in the area has been identified and the scheme now being prepared is to provide a number of two-bedroom, low-cost apartments, over-looking central gardens and facing Sun Street.

David Cragg, the developer, told a meeting of the Oswaldtwistle Area Council that the plans would be submitted to the council in January.