THE redevelopment of a car showroom site on the edge of Bolton town centre has begun.

Part of the Bristol Street Motors Ford dealership in Higher Bridge Street is being torn down as part of a massive investment by parent company Vertu Motors to transform the site.

As well as extensions and alterations to the Ford dealership, plans have also been approved for the Farnell Jaguar Land Rover business to move onto the site from its current base in Farnworth. The Farnell dealership, which is also owned by Vertu, will sit between the Ford and Citroen showrooms.

There are also multi-million pound dealerships planned for other key town centre sites.

A state-of-the-art £9 million Audi dealership will be built on the site of the former Bolton Community College, off Manchester Road, while RRG Skoda has been given the green light to build a new showroom where St Peters Way and Topp Way meet.