Developer to showcase £1.2bn Bolton masterplan

Working with Bolton Council, developer Midia is to open a 6,000 sq ft exhibition space in the former Beales department store opposite the town hall to showcase the area’s £1.2bn masterplan.

The developer, which is working on the regeneration of the Crompton Place Shopping Centre alongside BCEGI, has also put forward plans for a 20-storey tower, a 500-space multi-storey car park and a 30,000 sq ft office block next to Bolton’s transport interchange.

Contractor Seddon has been appointed to fit out the ground floor unit at Beales into an exhibition, featuring drawings and details of the array of projects included in the town’s masterplan. This will be open by the summer and is also set to feature a café.

Two other occupiers, Heavenly Desserts and a fashion retailer, have also taken space in the ground floor.

A spokesperson from Midia said: “With so much activity planned for Bolton over the coming years, we felt that it was important to have a local base in the town centre.

“Our team will not only have the benefit of being on the ground to work on the schemes, but we will also be able to take part in open sessions in the public space, where we can go into more detail about each of the projects that we are working on.”

Alongside Midia’s projects, other schemes coming forward in Bolton include a 200-home, £27.5m proposal by build-to-rent specialist Placefirst on the Central Street car park.

Along with the houses, Placefirst is also proposing a 15,000 sq ft office with ground floor commercial space fronting Deansgate, one of Bolton’s key links to the town centre.

Muse has also submitted its £150m plans for Church Wharf, also on the River Croal; this will feature 350 homes, 130,000 sq ft of offices and leisure, as well as extensive public realm.