A £9 MILLION state-of-the-art car dealership could be built at a key gateway to Bolton town centre.

The flagship new Audi garage will be created on the site of the former Bolton Community College, off Manchester Road, if plans are approved.

The land has been vacant since 2011 when the college moved on to its current site in Deane Road and the existing buildings were demolished.

The council has now reached out to premium Audi car dealership Inchcape — through its public sector partnership PSP Bolton LLP — with a view to creating the new development.

If permission is granted, The Bolton News understands that the new showroom could represent an investment of up to £9 million in the area, with space for 100 new and used cars on the site.

The council received information that Inchcape was looking to relocate from its existing Bolton premises on the Mill Hill Industrial Estate, close to the A666, to a larger site and had considered leaving the borough.

However, the council says that terms have now been agreed between the two parties and negotiations on the deal are in the ‘final stages’.

As well as selling new and used Audi motors, the new premises will also offer servicing on vehicles.

The leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Cliff Morris, said the proposed new dealership signifies Inchcape’s confidence in Bolton.

He said: “This is major private investment for an important gateway to the town centre.

“Audi is a high-end global brand, and they had the option of moving out of Bolton to a larger site elsewhere and we’ve worked extremely hard to broker this deal.

He added: “The development will create new jobs and it could be a real game changer for this part of town, together with the new £48 million transport Interchange.”

A planning application, with further details of the proposed development will be submitted to the council in the next week.

If the new dealership is then approved, Inchcape still intend to continue using the existing Mill Hill Industrial Estate in the interim, while the new facility is being built.

THE PSP arrangement is used by the council as a way of maximising its return on its land and property assets — including selling land for development.

The Audi deal is the latest in a long line of high-profile projects to be launched via PSP Bolton LLP, with others including the £6.5 million office block currently being created at the corner of Great Moor Street and Newport Street and the proposed major scheme for creating a student village behind Le Mans Crescent.

No one from Inchcape was available to comment on the project.