A HISTORIC part of Heaton Park could be turned into plush apartments.

Developers want to demolish two derelict cottages, known as Heaton Lodge, and build a four storey apartment block, comprising 10 flats.

The neglected buildings, which are situated next to Prestwich Prep School in Bury Old Road, were presented to the people of Prestwich by the Earl of Wilton.

Previous uses have included a library, a small school and they were once the home of a groundsman of Heaton Park.

Three years ago the future of the buildings came under criticism by local residents after they became a hideaway for drug users.

Locals were furious that they had been allowed to get in a state of disrepair and feared they would not be preserved but sold on to someone who would simply demolish them.

Although owned by Manchester City Council, the cottages no longer lie within the confines of Heaton Park since the new boundary wall was built.

An application has been made to Bury Council by a company called Heaton Lodge Developments Ltd, based at Openshaw Business Park.

St Margaret's Road resident Eric Dunn said he was outraged that the cottages would be bulldozed as they were "part and parcel" of the Heaton Park estate.

He said: "People have been asking Manchester City Council for years what they were going to do with the cottages but all they said was that they had plans for them. We were told this year that Manchester had applied to Bury Council for access and now we learn that the land is within Bury. There is something not quite right about this. What I want to know is why were they allowed to get into such a state of disrepair?"

A spokesman for Bury Council said that although the land was owned by Manchester City Council it was within an area that came under Bury for administration and planning permission.

He said: "It used to be in Manchester but the boundaries changed in the late 1980s early 1990s. A council can own land outside its administration area."