ONE of Bolton’s top council bosses will share the bill with celebrity boffin Brian Cox when he attempts to “sell” the borough to some of the world’s most influential developers on the French Riviera.

Keith Davies, Bolton Council’s director of development and regeneration, will represent the borough at the MIPIM 2013 showcase, billed as “the world’s premier real estate event”.

The event will take place from next Tuesday to Saturday, March 12 to March 15, in Cannes, in the south of France, home of the famous Cannes Film Festival.

Bolton Council will be attending as part of the Manchester Partnership, which also includes Manchester City Council, Salford Council, development companies, Transport for Greater Manchester and several private firms.

The cost for the council to attend is £7,000 — but the bill will be footed by a sponsor, property giant Bluemantle, which, along with Harworth Estates, one of the biggest landowners in the UK, will be promoting key borough projects such as Logistics North at Cutacre and Horwich Loco Works.

The council will also be promoting the proposed transport interchange and Church Wharf projects.

Mr Davies will be giving a speech and will be followed later in the day by TV physicist Brian Cox, who will deliver a keynote address aimed at enticing interest in Manchester’s property industry.

Mr Davies said: “This is a great opportunity for us to showcase some of the most innovative opportunities and partnerships we have in Bolton as part of that Greater Manchester proposition.

“Some of the key developers both nationally and internationally are in attendance and we’ll be presenting Logistics North — Cutacre — as one of the key employment sites in the North of England.”

Planning permission was granted in June last year for Harworth Estates, the property arm of UK Coal, to carry out restoration work at Cutacre, a former mine in Over Hulton, with a view to building a massive industrial and distribution complex.

Bluemantle’s Horwich Loco Works in Chorley New Road was built in 1886 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway to build and repair locomotive engines, but now has units to rent.

The Church Wharf scheme would include a new cinema, residential accommodation and office space in the town centre, while the proposed flagship £48 million transport interchange is due to open in 2015. Last year’s MIPIM event attracted 19,400 people from 80 countries.