Councillors greenlit updated plans for the training facility but rejected an application for 94 affordable homes off Inverbeg Drive.

That application, proposed for a site designated for recreation, had attracted 142 objections. It currently houses an amateur football club.

The scheme, which has been adapted slightly since its October 2021 submission, was to have been taken on in full by Bolton at Home for affordable housing. Councillors raised concerns around access, loss of sports facilities and a lack of information as to alternative sports provision.

Contractor Willmott Dixon intends to make a start in July on the 81,000 sq ft, £30m BCMS project, to be delivered on a surface car park within the Royal Bolton Hospital estate in Farnworth.

Edgeplan and Box Clever lead the professional team. Associated Architects designed the project.

BCMS is due to open in September 2024 and according to Bolton Council, is “expected to transform how NHS workforces are trained in the UK, alleviate healthcare staffing pressures in Greater Manchester, and provide improved levels of care to the local community”.

Revised plans submitted in March proposed to replace the multi-storey cark park included in the original design, approved in 2019, with surface level parking.

The college project will include teaching and learning space, a café, and a staff and service space, also bringing an additional 250 car parking spaces.

BCMS is a collaborative project between the University of Bolton, Bolton College, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.

Project director Mark O’Reilly described the verdict as “a major win for the Bolton community as it unlocks the construction of a facility that will bring countless healthcare and occupational benefits to the area”.