ONE of Radcliffe's most popular landmarks is to change AND remain the same. The town hall is set to be turned into ten flats for the homeless, but its grand facades will remain intact.

The deal was struck earlier this year when Bury Council sold the 1911 building to North British Housing Association earlier this year for just £1.

And now the association has formally submitted a planning application for the imposing building.

The town hall had been an albatross around the council's neck since it ceased to be the administrative centre for the town in 1974 due to local government reorganisation. In 1996 a consultant reported that it would cost at least £1 million to breathe new life into the building and last year the council set a twelve-month deadline to find a solution.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.