THESE are the latest pictures of the massive £350 million regeneration of Bury town centre, which continues to dominate the skyline.

Work on the huge Rock Triangle development is gathering pace and the project, which will usher in a leisure and retail renaissance, is still on course for completion next summer.

As familiar landmarks such as the Hornby Buildings and other features become victims of the bulldozers, the old is being replaced by the new.

A retail and residential area is being created that promises to be the envy of other towns in Greater Manchester.

Already, a new Bury primary care walk-in centre has been completed.

And work is continuing on other parts of the development, which involves 60 new shops and several major department stores, including Debenhams, more than 400 apartments, a Vue cinema, eight cafes and restaurants and a new multi-storey car park.

A spokesman for Rock Triangle developers, Thornfield, said: “At the moment, we are carrying out significant improvements to the paving on The Rock, which will provide a very nice look.

“The paving work is well advanced and, hopefully, it should be completed within the next four weeks.

“At the same time, there will be benches and tree planting and the area will certainly look good.

“The retailers are very pleased with what is happening.”

A topping-out ceremony to mark the roof being fitted to one of the buildings is scheduled to take place in July.

Several aspects of the massive development are being carried out simultaneously.

The spokesman added: “Everything is scheduled to open around July next year, when there will be a big launch party.

“There is a fantastic mix to the whole development and apart from putting Bury well and truly on the map, it will mean the town being able to compete with other places. And, at the same time, there will be jobs created.”

The huge cranes that dominate the skyline above The Rock have become a familiar local landmark, together with other developments at Townside Fields, opposite Bury Town Hall, and Chamberhall business park, where the new police station is being built.