BOLTON Market Place has reassured shoppers that there are no plans for Zara to leave the shopping centre.

Recently permission was granted by planning officials to potentially create four new units inside the Market Place.

An application for listed building consent was submitted by the Moorgarth Group - which owns the Grade II listed shopping centre.

If architects were to go ahead with the plans, the new units would be created in the space currently occupied by clothing store Zara, which is situated over two floors.

Two of the proposed units would be on the ground floor, with one facing out into the mall and a smaller one looking out into Corporation Street.

There would be one large unit on the first floor. The fourth would be a retail unit in the Vaults, which is currently used by Zara as storage.

However, when the application was submitted, Tim Vaughan, chief executive of Moorgarth said that a number of options are currently being reviewed and that nothing may change for a number of years.

Nikki Wilson-Cook, the manager of Bolton Market Place has echoed Mr Vaughan’s sentiments and said Zara is here to stay.

She added: “We have absolutely no intentions of Zara leaving. We want Zara to stay in the centre.

“Zara haven’t indicated that they want to leave either.

“All it is, is that we are giving ourself options just in case.

“It’s a futureproofing exercise”.

Approving the plans, Planning officer Martin Mansell wrote in his report: “The works relate either to the 2006 interventions into this building, or involve very limited and entirely acceptable works to the basement vaults. No harm will be caused to the heritage significance of this heritage asset.”