AN extra 26 flats will be built as part of the town centre transformation of derelict mills into Manhattan loft-style apartments.

An application for a two-storey roof top extension, which would allow for the additional apartments, was approved on Thursday.

One of the four mills will be extended to continue the north-facing glazed façade of the existing top floor.

Neil Pike Architects promised that the design is a "dynamic approach" to combining new construction with traditional-style construction.

The agent said: "The additional 26 apartments will enjoy unparalleled views across the borough, along with niche internal design features that acknowledge the historic setting of the mill buildings below."

Demand for a "city living" lifestyle led the developer to propose extending the building, according to the application.

The total number of flats at the Globe Works development on the edge of the town centre will now reach 150 when construction is complete. The development will offer a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom units.

According to the Neil Pike Architects, the extensions will be intentionally difficult to observe from street level.

This is to avoid "stark contrast" with the existing mills and also but follow the design used on the upper floors of the building.

Planning permission was granted for 124 flats in 2016, despite some councillors raising concerns that there is provision for just 20 car parking spaces in the proposals.

These parking spaces will be in the existing basement but no new parking spaces will be created for the additional apartments.

Given the site is Bolton town centre, the developer says a car-free scheme would be acceptable because of the sustainable location of the site.

Construction on the development got underway in October 2017, a year planning permission was granted.

Empire Property Holdings, the investment company which owns the Globe Works site, said the massive redevelopment project would take 18 months to complete.

The building, which was formerly known as the Glove Hosiery Works, was built in 1884 and rebuilt in 1929 by Hodgkinson and Gillbrand, which made knitted and crocheted hosiery. The firm moved to Fletcher Street in 1972.

Since then, other companies have run a variety of operations at the site, although it was unused for at least six years before construction began two years ago.