A BLOCK of 100 flats and new offices could be built on a prime town centre site in Bury.

Bury Council is setting up a joint venture company with a private developer to transform green land at Townside Fields and its adjacent car park in Knowsley Street.

The plan is for a block of six storeys or higher, which will be built on the land sloping down to the Metrolink station. Council bosses are not naming the developer, but it is believed to have been involved in previous office and apartment developments.

Cllr John Byrne, the council leader, said: "This is a key site. Hopefully, the scheme will create employment and give people the chance to live in the town centre, right next to the Metrolink and other public transport."

He said the venture company would have a management board made up of the representatives of the council and the developers.

"The finance is provided by them, but we will be involved with every stage," he said.

Subject to planning permission, work could start by the end of the year, with the project finished by 2007. The council has earmarked some of the office space for itself, moving staff from other buildings.