A NEW addition could dominate the Prestwich town centre skyline if ambitious plans for the former Sainsburys supermarket are given the go-ahead.

Developers are hoping to create a towering five-storey building on the site incorporating more than 100 apartments.

As reported in last week's Bury Times, Richardsons and MCO Developments were on the verge of submitting a second application to transform the empty Longfield Centre building.

They have already been granted planning permission for a shopping and retail complex on the site but were looking at reviewing their ideas to keep up with market trends.

The fresh application, which was received by Bury Council this week and is solely for outline approval, is for a combined retail and residential development.

Simon Miller, of MCO Developments, said car parking provision for 100 vehicles would be built into the basement for residents.

Shops would be earmarked for the ground floor, as was always the plan, and there would also be potential for additional leisure facilities.

He said the plan also shows potential to build a further four floors, creating an impressive apartment block of up to 108 apartments divided into 27 flats on each floor.

If deemed acceptable by Bury Council, the modern-living block would become one of the tallest buildings in Prestwich.

Mr Miller said: "It would certainly be quite a landmark building and put Prestwich on the map."

He added that the company was in discussions with a number of residential developers and once formulated they would be submitting the details of the plan, although they had not discarded their original plan to build solely a leisure and retail complex.

Mr Miller said: "At the moment there is no activity in Prestwich during the evening and by building a town centre residential scheme it would bring people back into the town centre at night, creating 24-hour activity. Our proposal is for good quality, yet affordable, one and two bedroomed flats in a really attractive building. Prestwich is a large catchment area, pretty affluent and it needs a decent town centre."