TWO "leaning towers" could transform the south eastern gateway to Bolton town centre.

Developers want to demolish the former Lido cinema on Bradshawgate and put up two landmark back-to-back five-storey apartment blocks that is hoped will kick-start regeneration of the entire area.

Architects have submitted designs which show each floor jutting out from the one below creating a V-shaped 'leaning' effect.

The two blocks would house 36 two-floor maisonette-type apartments, 24 of which will be sold by developer Urban Splash, while the other 12 will be put on the market as shared-ownership properties by housing association Irwell Valley.

If approved, it could be one of a number of futuristic developments which would transform the area around Bradshawgate into a centre for urban living.

A preliminary outline application was submitted by the two groups a number of years ago to create 82 apartments on the site of the cinema and the neighbouring Metrolands House office block.

But Irwell Valley bosses claim the price of purchasing the office block was too high and scaled down the development, containing it to the site of the cinema.

That has allowed Dublin-based developers Idea Site Ltd to propose their own scheme for Metrolands House.

It has applied for planning permission to build two new apartment buildings and add another two storeys to Metrolands House as part of a complete refurbishment of the vacant office block - creating a total of 70 homes on the site.

The two proposals would be the latest in a series of modern apartment developments in the south eastern corner of the town centre following the opening of the Old School Rooms, on Great Moor Street, and the Arches, on Clive Street.

Irwell Valley has applied to the council's planning committee for permission to change the use of the site of the former cinema building.

The Lido opened in March, 1937, and hosted its first variety show, a circus, ten months later. It continued to put on films and shows until 1998. Its ground floor has since been used as a nightclub and as the home of Laser Quest.