200 leisure jobs boost

Cathco Properties, a newly formed property development company based in the North-west, is planning to give the run-down side of Nelson Square a major face-lift.

The company has bought the land south of the square, opposite the Pack Horse Hotel, where there is now a row of derelict shops and a car park.

The shops were formerly occupied by Scholes & Scholes menswear and the car park is the former site of Richard Hough electrical engineers.

A £5.5 million development comprising two pubs, a restaurant, and an office block with parking spaces is now planned.

Details will be submitted to Bolton Council within the next four weeks and Cathco hope to be on site later this year.

Cathco's managing director Nathan Kemplin has pledged to employ local people on the construction.

"This is great news for the town. We will be creating jobs in the construction industry and then later about 200 permanent jobs in the pubs and offices.

"And this is not a long-term project. We hope to be on site as soon as possible and are expecting to finish some time in 1997."

Mr Kemplin says he already has provisional agreement from two large breweries to take over the pubs: "And we're now approaching large companies to see if they are interested in locating their regional headquarters in the town."

He says he has been looking at the Nelson Square site for more than two years: "I've always liked it because it is in the centre of the town's office and leisure area.

"We have had a lot of interest already and I am more than confident that we will get tenants for the whole development."

The work is scheduled to take place in two phases.

The first stage will be demolition of the existing shops and the construction of the two pubs and restaurant. While this work is going on the area at the side will remain as an NCP car park.

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