Permission has been given to convert a bungalow into a day care centre for older people.

Age UK Oldham had proposed to make a property on Highlands, Royton, into a care centre for vulnerable elderly people after plans were submitted in late March this year.

In a planning statement prepared by Hourigan Planning, it said the centre will be open from Monday to Friday each week between the hours of 8.30am and 4.30pm.

Age UK will pick up elderly locals using a specially adapted minibus and drop them off at the centre each morning, before bringing them home in the afternoons.

The planning statement said the new facility will "create a safe and community environment for elderly locals to socialise and interact with one another".

Those using the centre will be elderly people who live in their own home, either alone or with someone else such as a relative or carer, but need help "to remain independent due to physical or mental frailty".

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Hourigan Planning said no external alterations are proposed to be made to the building, although a 1.8m timber fence has been proposed on the stretch of land between the adjacent property.

Age UK has been advocating and supporting older people with a range of services for more than 14 years and already has Bluebells Day Centre in Moorside, which has provided day care for 15 to 20 elderly people with success since 2018.

Hourigan Planning said the day care centre in Moorside provides a "normal domestic setting", as opposed to an institutional one, which benefits its users.

The firm added that the Royton site is "very sustainable from an accessibility perspective", being so close to Royton town centre, a number of bus stops and local amenities, such as Lidl and Co-op, while the driveway could accommodate several cars and a minibus.

Comments left by people on the application online showed a split between those in support of the proposal and those who objected to it.

Several people pointed to how the centre would offer a service that is much needed in the area when expressing support for the application.

Others, however, shared concerns over the impact the centre would have on parking in the area, suggesting it was a good proposal but the estate was the wrong place for it.

Approval of the application was given on behalf of the council on June 30.