Former world boxing champion has left locals in Bolton furious after building a lavish £11.5million wedding venue in the town.

The luxury complex - which is named 'The Balmayna' - has eye-catching features with glass walls, a waterfall and palm trees inside - along with impressive greenery and a floral design.

The Balmayna, which translates to 'enamelled' in Arabic, is set to open in March, with its website promising a 'royalty experience' and 'a touch of magnificence and excellence in every celebration'.

Khan - who reigned as super-lightweight boxing world champion between 2009 and 2011 - hung up his gloves after a knockout defeat to bitter rival

in 2022 and has since been turning his attentions to life outside the ring. 

Now 37, Khan - who is married to model - is finally getting ready to unveil his wedding venue that he has been planning since 2013, but the location of the site may cause a stir as it is situation across the road from a car wash and a garage.

Amir Khan - who is married to model Faryal Makhdoom (L) has built an £11.5m wedding venue in Bolton that 'looks like it belongs in Dubai'

Locals have reportedly been infuriated with the site located next to a car wash and garage. The luxury complex comes complete with glass walls, a waterfall and palm trees

After announcing that the venue was taking bookings, the Balmayna's Instagram page wrote: 'With immense joy, the wait is nearly over! We will soon unveil the grand opening of@thebalmayna, Bolton's newest wedding haven.

A splendid project between Excellency Midlands and Amir Khan, where elegance seamlessly meets excellence.'

But those who live in the area are far from happy with the design, according to . One person said it looks like it 'belongs in Dubai' on social media, while another wrote on social media: 'Seriously? Couldn't come up with something original? The design is about 10 years out of date.'

One took issue with the venue describing itself as 'presitigious', writing: 'Please explain what you mean by prestigious here... That requires reviews, feedback and a degree of longevity / history.'

Work on the site has taken far longer than expected, with Khan speaking about his plans to 'make Bolton better' by building the facility more than a decade ago.

Khan has been planning to build the venue since 2013 in a bid to 'make Bolton better' 

'We've always had the ambition to have something like this in Bolton but it was about getting the space and the area right,' he said in 2013. 

'We want to make the town better, we want to get people talking about it and coming into Bolton to do their business work here.

'Hopefully people can follow in our footsteps and start building more and investing into Bolton.

'It is going to provide jobs and will be really good for the town.

I'm putting the money back into Bolton and giving something to the community.

'A lot of people go out of town for meals, to Manchester or wherever but why, when we've got Bolton here and the town deserves 100 per cent to have the best facilities.'

Khan retired in 2022 after his knockout defeat to rival Kell Brook before failing a drugs test 

Khan was banned from all sport for two years after an independent panel ruled he had committed a violation but had not done so intentionally

Khan's personal life has often made its way into the headlines outside of boxing, as well as a handful of controversies.

He married Makhdoom in 2013, with the pair having two daughters together, before announcing their separation in 2017. In the same year, he

He has since reconciled with Makhdoom and starred in a BBC TV series with her called 'Meet the Khans'.

Last year, Khan failed a drugs test following his fight with Brook after a banned bodybuilding substance called ostarine was . 

Khan - who was banned from all sport for two years - bizarrely claimed his positive test could have been from 'shaking people's hands' and

claiming he 'never had or never will cheat'.

Khan, speaking to Sportsmail, said: ‘I have never cheated in my 27 years in the ring.

‘I spent over £100,000 to try to find out how this could have got into my system. Among the possibilities they came up with was via a handshake. There was a whole crowd of people in my dressing room after the fight and I’m a friendly guy who always shakes hands.’