LAND wanted for the £100 million Golden Square revamp could be the subject of compulsory purchase orders under proposals set to be considered by councillors.

Developer Legal and General has already secured the freehold ownership of some of the land required for the shopping centre extension.

And another portion of the land is either administered by the council or it has freehold ownership over it - but parcels of land are controlled by neither.

The area covered by proposed compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) is bordered by Midland Way, Winwick Street, Sankey Street, Regent Street and Legh Street and covers a number of town centre properties.

Members of the borough council's executive board will meet on Monday to decide what approach to take over the outstanding land, with the options being:

l Wait for further negotiations to take place between developers and landowners

l Agree 'in principle' to making CPOs, while negotiations continue

l Make the CPOs without any further discussions taking place

Council officers are advising cabinet members to agree to the second option. This will allow officers to publish details of the CPOs and notify anyone affected by them.

If there are any objections to the CPO notices, they can be sent to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's office.

Then if no agreement can be reached between the parties, a public inquiry will be staged in around six months time.