BURY is in the fast lane to create 100 new jobs with a planned £6.5 million car showroom development.

A prime six-acre site in the town's Crostons Road has been earmarked as the major north west Manchester base of Dixon Motors.

Part of the proposals include the relocation of the company's current 70-strong operation in Derby Street, Bury, to the new headquarters.

Chief executive Paul Dixon has pledged to employ local people at what he describes as "the best site we could find in Bury."

An application for full planning permission for a two storey car showroom, car body repair workshop, 25-metre high security fence and new highway access has been submitted to Bury Council. If permission is granted, then work will get under way later this year, with completion scheduled for next July.

Part of the site is currently occupied by coal merchants Gardeners while nearby is a distinctive white building which during the 1980s served as a showroom for StormSeal.

Mr Dixon revealed: "We are talking about creating upwards of 100 new jobs and the investment in land and buildings will amount to £6.5 million.

"This is part of an enlarged territory Ford has allocated to us. Bury is a very important area in terms of Ford's plans for north west Manchester. "We have found the best site we could in Bury. We'd been looking elsewhere, around Salford."

The businessman says the Bury site will justify the company's multi-million pound investment and fulfil its jobs aspirations.

"When we put up a building of that nature, we will be very much employing local people. This is important for us - we have a preference for employing locally."

Mr Dixon said the site identified brought to an end two years of searching for suitable land.

"We have an impressive track record. We have carried out major developments in cities all over the north of England and invested more than £50 million in new freehold properties since 1993."

Some time ago, Dixon Motors took over the former Quicks dealership in Bury which will ultimately be transferred to the new site.

Mr Dixon concluded: "Hopefully, the site should be finished by July next year, subject to what the planners will say.

"We've been working with Bury Council and found the planners and officers we've spoken to extremely helpful. We've had every co-operation from them."

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