PRE-SALES of studio flats in a £9 million student accommodation block in Bolton are “going very well”, according to developers behind the project.

The first artist’s impressions of the new Cube building in Bradshawgate, which will contain 216 rooms and is marketed as delivering luxury student living, have been released.

The developments will see empty offices in Victoria House refurbished, with a two-storey extension and a new six-storey building behind it.

The Cube will be the latest building regeneration on Bradshawgate, after the Picture House apartment block next door was opened in 2007.

Work is on track to be completed by next summer, with the first wave of new tenants set to arrive in September, 2014.

A spokesman for Aspen Woolf, the London firm which is jointly behind the project, said: “Sales have been really encouraging and we have no reason to think work will not be finished by the start of August next year.

“Completion could well be a month or two in advance of the new term.”

The flats are now available to pre-buy, with the studio properties available for between £40,000 and £50,000.

Russell Midgley, a partner at Aspen Woolf Europe, said: “We’re very excited about The Cube as it will create a whole new living concept for the students of Bolton.

“The project has been meticulously planned and will give students peace of mind when they make the big move from home life to university life.”

As well as smart, modern and compact individual flats, the development will be built around a central internal garden and will include a games room, gym and launderette.

The two buildings will be linked by a communal footbridge. When the project was approved, Cllr Cliff Morris, Bolton Council leader, said: “It’s great for the town centre and if it can help regenerate it then that’s good.”

The Cube will be the latest luxury student blocks to be built in Bolton after the former Pack Horse hotel in Nelson Square was refurbished and renamed Boutique Student Living.