CLAREMONT old folks home in Prestwich, closed by Bury Council last year, could be turned into houses.

Town Hall leaders have submitted a planning application for residential development on the site of the defunct home in Bury New Road.

It's the first clear sign of what councillors propose to do with Claremont. They have always maintained that no proposals were on the table.

A council spokesman said: "We have had a lot of interest in the site from a range of parties, who we have effectively put on hold until a decision on the site has been made.

"This is a standard outline planning application to help establish options for the site for any future potential sale."

Claremont closed under a shake-up of social services for elderly people, under which the council also wants to close Warthfield in Bury and Whittaker House in Radcliffe.

Campaigners won a High Court reprieve on the latter two, when the judge criticised the council for not consulting properly over its closure plans. But his ruling did not apply to Claremont, which shut its doors for the last time in the autumn.

Nonetheless, the council is pressing ahead with the closures. Government inspectors say that Bury places too many people into homes and does not provide sufficient alternative care to help them live at home.

There are only three or four weeks of consultation left before the council makes a final decision on Warthfield and Whittaker House in March.