DEVELOPERS are confident a multi-million pound scheme earmarked for Altrincham will finally go ahead - almost a decade after it was first proposed.

Altrincham-based company Nikal this week unveils revised proposals for the first phase of Altair - a £70m leisure, housing and office scheme for the 4.5 acre Oakfield Road car park area.

It has submitted a planning application for its £15m plans for the initial 'gateway' phase of the development, which aims to help breathe new life into the town centre.

This is for the demolition of the ATS Euromaster premises, and to build 59 apartments on the site in an eight storey building.

Integrated into the scheme is a new grand entrance for the ice rink, which is to have a £1.5m upgrade carried out by rink operator Nice Leisure, and new landscaped public realm to include outside seating for a new café.

There would be a restaurant in the complex and a 100-space car park.

Further phases are planned over the next seven years with outline planning consent in place for 150 homes. This would be a mixture of apartments and town houses.

The scheme would also include offices, bars, cafes, restaurants and shops and possibly a new leisure centre.

Nick Payne, the managing director of Nikal, said of the first phase plan: "We want to bring city centre quality to Altrincham.

"This is just the first phase, we won't stop here. We are fully committed to the whole of Altair and developing all of the site."

He said, if planning approval is granted early in the new year, then work would start in spring 2016, with a completion date of summer 2017.

A stand-out feature of the apartment complex will be a communal rooftop garden covering half of the roof space. "People will be able to relax there enjoying stunning views of the Cheshire Plain," he said.

The work will be carried out Nikal's homebuilder, Hillcrest Homes, alongside main contractor, Eric Wright Construction.

The development will be linked directly to the new transport interchange via a new public walkway.

Mr Payne said he was '100 per cent confident' that Altair would now go ahead, as land ownership issues which had held it up were now resolved.

He said the development would play a major role in the rejuvenation of Altrincham, by providing high quality facilities to make the area a 'destination’ and by getting people to live in the town centre.

"The town is enjoying a renaissance and we’re seeing so many positive changes, both commercially and aesthetically.

“This first building at Altair will set the highest of standards for the rest of the scheme."

The development will be linked to the new transport interchange via a new public walkway.

Plans for the site were first drawn up in 2006.