COUNCIL bosses are hopeful that a new business or businesses will move into Bolton town centre following the shock announcement that iconic department store Beales is to shut and tomorrow’s closure of British Home Stores.

Stephen Young, director of place at Bolton Council, along with other council chiefs, is to meet bosses at Crompton Place shopping centre to discuss the way forward following the closure of BHS.

All staff at the store in Victoria Square will be made redundant.

The closure comes as the entire BHS company across the country is wound down — with the overall loss of more than 11,000 jobs at 164 stores throughout the UK.

On Thursday, The Bolton News revealed that the flagship Bolton store Beales will also close, in January.

Mr Young said: “We are committed to doing everything we can to make Bolton town centre a vibrant shopping destination.

“When circumstances beyond our control lead to major stores closing, we do everything in our power to attract new businesses in.

“This is all the more challenging when dealing with absent landlords and with buildings we do not own.

“The Beales store is in multiple landlord ownership and we are speaking to two potential tenants about the store.

“We also have a meeting set up with the owners of Crompton Place to discuss their plans and our plans and how we can help them to get someone into the BHS unit.”

A spokesperson for the Crompton Place management company LaSalle Investment Management said: “We are currently working through the different scenarios to achieve a long term solution for all involved.”

The former Whitakers store currently has an ‘everything-must-go sale' and staff have been told that the historic store in Deansgate will cease trading in the New Year.

The closure has been blamed on an inability to agree rental terms with the administrator after the building’s landlords went into administration.