The developers will be circling. A prime piece of land for residential use is to come on the market.

It will not make much of a dent in Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner's mission impossible to build 1.5m homes. But it could be one spark to revitalise a town.

But any builder taking a punt on constructing a smart new enclave will need to be sensitive and patient. The plot is flanked by a small wood in a conservation area and a "Green Flag" park.

It is also just 100 yards from a plot of land which has been at the centre of planning wrangle for three decades.

Whitefield Medical Centre, known as The Uplands, is to be demolished. The partially condemned buildings off Bury New Road have not been fit for purpose for a long time.

Greater Manchester NHS has agreed to buy the nearby empt

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