A MULTI-million-pound redevelopment plan for a key Nelson centre shopping area has been put out to public consultation.

A draft planning brief for the site of the former Grand Cinema in Market Street - destroyed by fire last year - and surrounding streets outlines the opportunities to renew the area with shops, leisure, business and housing.

The clearance area includes the old Lambert's Market - run down and unchanged in 60 years - and shops and warehouses in Jude Street. Shops on Market Street and the Salvation Army building are also earmarked for clearance.

The planning brief is intended as a guide to the types of development which should be permitted. It says that, because of the high number of vacant shops in the centre, it would be "inappropriate" to develop the site purely for retail, but some shops are incorporated into the scheme. Town centres like Nelson provide an ideal location for discount chain stores.

Leisure development could add night-time interest to the "exceptionally quiet" evening scene. The council would welcome a restaurant or licensed premises, a meeting hall for a takeaway. Workshops, office space and first-floor flats are also suggested.

Ideally, the council say, would like to see to see a sensitively-designed development which would add vitality.

It was anticipated the site would be bought from the owners by a developer and talks were already under way. The council says a suggestion to move the open market to the cinema site while development work is carried out on other parts of the site would only be acceptable as a temporary measure.