BOLTON has been handed a fresh jobs boost after plans were approved for an office complex which will create up to 700 posts.

Two five-storey buildings will be created at The Parklands site off Cranfield Road in Middlebrook.

Bolton Council's planning and highways committee unanimously backed the proposal, which will also include public art and 328 car parking spaces.

A report considered by councillors said that a glazed link could join the two blocks making them suitable for a single firm with up to 700 employees.

Developer Orbit Investments is likely to start work on site within the next three months, although a deal has yet to be struck with a future tenant.

Cllr Andy Morgan told planning committee members: "What Orbit has done for the area is immeasurable. It has brought in a lot of employment."

The site was occupied by Amey Plant Hire until August last year and has since been used as a base by contractors working on other schemes in the area.

The committee decided that Orbit should pay one third towards the £130,000 cost of SCOOT traffic lights - which respond automatically to changes in traffic flow - at the De Havilland Way and Cranfield Road junctions to help deal with the increased traffic.

Orbit director Simon Clarke-Williams said the company was delighted to have received approval for its latest plan.

"Our confidence in the speculative office market is underlined by our decision to develop extensively in Bolton," he said.

"The success of the site at Middlebrook is unrivalled and Orbit is confident that it will continue in the future.

"It's essential to sustain the flow of quality office accommodation in order to keep the town's market buoyant, and we're committed to the continued development of consistently high-quality office schemes."

Orbit last month received permission for a five-storey office block and 401-space car park at the junction of Aspinall Way and The Linkway, which will also have capacity for 700 staff.

Work is under way on another office block at the Parklands site. It will be occupied by AXA insurance, which is moving from Bolton town centre. Last year, Powergen moved 1,100 staff from its Manchester Road home to new offices at the site.