A vacant pub in St Helens could be converted into homes under new plans.

St Helens Council has received proposals to transform the Bowling Green Inn on Robins Lane into a 14-bedroom house of multiple occupancy (HMO) and two one-bedroom studio apartments.

The existing building, which ceased operating as a public house in 2014, is to become the HMO if the plans are approved while a single-storey rear extension will be added to house the studio flats.

The plans have attracted multiple letters of objection from local residents, many of whom have expressed concerns about the potential impact on local roads and the development’s close proximity to a nearby school.

Elsewhere in Merseyside, Liverpool City Council recently approved plans to limit the number of HMOs in parts of the city where they are rife, including Smithdown and Ullet Road.

The ‘HMO Strategy’ has given the local authority greater powers “to influence and limit” new HMOs and to buy up and refurbish housing which it believes is “in danger of unsuitable HMO conversion”.

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