Plans have been submitted to transform a vacant car showroom into five new business units.

The site off Manchester Road, in Westhoughton, was last used for car sales, but has now been identified by a local electrical contractors business as a new base of operations to expand its business.

The plans were submitted for consideration by the council on May 15.

The plans have been submitted by Wells Electrical Contractors Ltd, a Westhoughton based company, which has been run by local residents for the last 13 years.

The company say that moving their new base to these offices will allow them to "bid for new large scale contracts, employ more office based staff and provide a place for meetings with potential new customers."

A statement in the planning application also says that they want to stay based in Westhoughton as "it is considered to be both an excellent area to both live and work."

Transport links in the area also make this location ideal to the growth of their business.

The proposed new offices won't just be used for Wells Electrical Contractors however; as the company also plans to use this application to provide more offices for other companies looking to set-up base in Westhoughton.

The Planning, Design and Access Statement says: "The size of the site provides the opportunity to develop a series of small modern business units for which there is little current availability within the local area."

New access to Manchester Road for the offices is also proposed in the plans as the current site is surrounded by fencing, limiting access.

Further in the plans the company state that the former users of the site offered limited employment opportunities for the area.

In contrast, these plans propose to offer a "range of potential job opportunities within the urban area, helping to meet the local need and the supply of employment."

The developers believe they are fulfilling crucial requirements such as providing an economic benefit to the area, both in construction and the office use; "enhancing the outlook from nearby dwellings", and creating a high quality development "enhancing the appearance of the street scene supplemented with new frontage tree planting."

The document is concluded by the applicants by arguing that the development is compatible with the area in terms of use, and that it will "considerably enhance the appearance of Manchester Road."

A decision is expected to be made by early July.