BOLTON'S new magistrates' courthouse could be a spectacular £70 million four-storey, glass and stone-sided building in the heart of town's civic quarter.

Strict guidelines have been set down by council chiefs, who want the highest architectural standards for a building at their favoured site of Cheadle Square.

Town Hall bosses are adamant that the courthouse will "hold its own" with the Grade II listed Town Hall and Le Mans Crescent.

They want to avoid a repeat of the controversy surrounding the Crown Court building in Blackhorse Street, nicknamed Colditz after its completion in 1982 because of its ugly appearance.

Cllr Guy Harkin, Bolton Council's executive member for environment, said private finance would be used to ensure the development was one of the finest in the borough if the Government give the go-ahead for the scheme.

"We want a building to complement and hold its own with the Town Hall and Le Mans Crescent," he said.

"It is quite a demanding brief which has been drawn up, to make anyone thinking of taking it on aware of the standards we are expecting.

"We need to make headway because we have a courthouse which is creaking and a number of firms who would like to build a new one."

The move comes as Greater Manchester Magistrates Court Committee officially proposed closing the existing magistrates' courts in Le Mans Crescent.

The facilities at the acclaimed 1930s building are no longer seen as adequate to support the demands of a modern courthouse.

Moving the courts to a new site would also allow Town Hall bosses to push ahead with plans to develop a cultural quarter at the Crescent.

Council officers say they would welcome an innovative design, making use of cladding and transparent materials and featuring imposing facades looking on to Cheadle Square and Deansgate. A pedestrian-only public space would also be created at the entrance to the Crescent's archways on the square.

Brian Tetlow, chairman of the Bolton Civic Trust, wants the new building to complement the neighbouring ones. "We believe the new courthouse should be built at the site and it should be of a similar style and quality to the Crescent." he said.

More than 1,000 people backed the Bolton Evening News's Save Our Courts campaign two years ago to halt proposals to move the magistrates' courts to Bury, Manchester or Trafford.

A number of companies are already said to interested in the lucrative project. which must be approved by the Government.

Initial investigations are taking place into the viability of the scheme and Cheadle Square is the number one choice, despite speculation that the new courthouse could instead be built at the site of the former Water Place.

"Buildings of this type are hugely important to the town centre and are looked on as an example by other architects."