COUNCILLORS have approved plans to build retirement flats on the site of a burnt down former sex fetish dungeon.

The site in question is land on School Road in Orford, at the junction with Povey Road, which was previously home to Orford Farm.

Previous plans were submitted to Warrington Borough Council in March to build a three-storey apartment block comprising of 50 apartments for residents aged 55 and above.

But these were rejected by the council’s development management committee in September.

Following a meeting with residents, amended plans by the applicant came back before the committee on Thursday – and these were approved by the committee subject to conditions and a Section 106 agreement, as recommended.

Committee member Cllr Brian Gallagher said: “I think this is a good example of where the applicant has listened to some of the criticism from this committee and from the residents, and they’ve addressed those concerns and they’ve consulted and liaised with people really well.

“This is benefitting this area, at least 30 per cent affordable housing, and money into the community through Section 106.”

The site was formerly home to a sex fetish club which boasted specialist rooms including a dungeon, a pigsty, a head teacher’s study, a medical room and a school room.

Plans were approved for the construction of 33 retirement apartments on the site in November 2014, with that permission since expiring.

Further proposals were given the green light in January 2015 for the demolition of buildings on the site, with this work having been carried out since.

A report to the committee said the applicant has ‘sought to address the concerns that were raised by residents as a result of the recently refused application’.

It added: “It is considered that those amendments have successfully addressed the single issue, relating to the mass of the building and the position of habitable room windows adjacent to the northern site boundary impacting upon the residential amenity of the neighbouring occupiers.

“There would be no impact on the nearby designated heritage asset and, subject to conditions and a S106 obligation, there would be no unacceptable impacts on the amenity of the area, highway safety, drainage or ecology.

“The development would make an important contribution to increasing the council’s supply of housing land for a type of residential development for which there is evidence of a need in the borough.”