A MULTI-screen cinema, a hotel and nearly 600 new homes are to built in Bolton town centre.

They are part of a £200 million scheme for the Church Wharf area which will create 1,500 jobs.

It includes bars, restaurants and office blocks.

The council has already selected the developers and work should start in a year's time.

The six-screen cinema would be the first in the town centre since the ABC cinema in Bradshawgate closed in January, 1998.

Cllr Akhtar Zaman, Bolton Council's executive member for regeneration, said: "This is a significant step towards achieving our dream of transforming Bolton into a thriving, modern town.

"In ten years' time, we will see a very different town centre with more offices, homes, leisure facilities and shops. Church Wharf will be an important part of that."

The Church Wharf development will cover an area bordered by Folds Road, St Peter's Way, Manor Street and the River Croal.

The scheme is the latest in a long line of ambitious plans for Bolton town centre, which include a cultural quarter for Le Mans Crescent and a £100 million redevelopment scheme in the Central Street area.

From a shortlist the council has selected two companies, Ask Developments and Bluemantle, to jointly carry out the Church Wharf scheme The 13-acre site will include: l 586 homes including townhouses and apartments.

l More than 340,000 sq feet of office space across ten buildings.

l More than 7,000 sq feet of retail space.

l A leisure quarter including the six-screen cinema - and up to ten cafes, bars and restaurant units.

l An 80-room hotel.

l Two multi storey car parks - one with 660 spaces for residents and another with 700 spaces for shoppers and visitors. They will replace the existing Bow Street multi-storey and eight surface level car parks.

l An eye-catching footbridge spanning the River Croal, leading to Churchgate and the town centre.

Large areas of Church Wharf are currently covered with surface car parks. There are also a number of industrial buildings, a takeaway and a number of bars.

In a joint statement, the leaders of three party groups on Bolton Council, Cllrs Cliff Morris, John Walsh and Roger Hayes said: "The Church Wharf site has the potential to become a catalyst for the transformation of the townscape of Bolton.

"We were impressed by Ask:Bluemantle's ambitions to provide a vibrant town centre leisure quarter, including a new cinema and also by its proposal to make a feature of the area's riverside setting."

The developers will submit plans by the end of the year, If they are approved the scheme will be completed in six phases, starting in May, 2008, with completion by 2014.

Ken Knott, chief executive of Ask Developments, said: "This dynamic city-scale project will be a pivotal driver of Bolton's broader regeneration ambitions to transform itself into a 21st century city.

"Ask and Bluemantle are delighted to have been chosen as preferred development partner for Bolton Council and share its aspirations to create a place where people will want to spend their time, money and indeed lives."

Mark Caldwell, chief executive of Bluemantle, added: "Church Wharf demands scale, ambition and quality and we share Ask Developments' delight at being selected by Bolton Council to make this impressive vision a reality."

The selection of the preferred developer is expected to be ratified at the meeting of the executive member for development Cllr Ebrahim Adia on June 4.

Detailed negotiations on the terms of the development agreement will continue over the next few months.