A DEVELOPER has been accused of trying to ‘profit from tragedy’ over plans to build apartments on the site of a pub destroyed in severe flooding.

Plans to build a four-storey complex comprising 17 apartments on the former car park of The Waterside pub in Summerseat were submitted by the land’s owner Owais Khan last week.

The pub, along with Kay Street Bridge, was partially washed away in the Boxing Day floods of December 2015, and was later demolished by Bury Council due to safety concerns.

The bridge reopened to pedestrians in March 2016, but the demolition of the pub left it with no permanent barrier on the upstream side, meaning it has remained closed to traffic ever since.

Planning permission to reconstruct the bridge was granted last summer, and it is expected to reopen later this year.

Should the plans for the apartments also be approved, they would involve the creation of five one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments, as well as 28 car parking spaces.

Speaking at a public meeting to discuss the plans, North Manor Cllr Khalid Hussain hit out at the developer, and also took aim at Bury Council over an alleged agreement with Mr Khan’s property firm Kingsley Estates to pay back the pub’s £40,000 demolition costs in monthly instalments.

He said: “The collapse of the Waterside was a tragedy but it could have been a greater tragedy if, at the time, people were walking across the bridge.

“Mr Khan has not had the decency to come here to view the collapse or the debris, or at least meet the residents.

“My understanding is that he was not insured at the time. It is disgusting that the council is doing deals with him without consulting the elected members so that he can profit from this tragedy.

“The way the people of Summerseat have been treated is disgusting. The council should realise it is the people of Summerseat who pay their council tax and not some rich property developer down south.”

Among the objections raised by the dozens of residents who gathered at Rowlands Methodist Church last night were the impact the development may have on parking and traffic in the village, as well as that the building’s design was not in keeping with the surrounding area.

Cllr Dorothy Gunther said she was ‘disturbed’ by the impact the plans may have on congestion and parking, in particular on residents living in nearby Hill Street.

In response to complaints about the building’s design, architect John Holt told the meeting that the building would ‘replicate a mill-type structure’ in keeping with the rest of the village.

However, Cllr James Daly told residents there should be ‘grave concern’ about the plans, and urged them to fight them.

He said: “The council have been open with me and said they want development on the site.

“Mr Khan is getting this permission to sell it on to someone else. No chance is he going to develop it himself.

"We all need to think about what sort of area we want Summerseat to be. Should it have a minimum price of £500,000 for a five-bedroom house?

"Affordable homes are desperately needed in this area."

One resident added: “The council seems to have a hidden agenda of pushing through the site regardless of whether it is good for the village.

“There is no way this should go through. I can only think the application has been put in to hike the price of the land. It does not look like a serious one.”

Mr Khan was invited to the meeting, but was unable to attend.

A public consultation period on the plans will run until Thursday, February 7.