Bolton announces £12m town centres investment

Bolton Council plans to invest £12m into the regeneration of the borough’s town centres.

The proposals concern Farnworth, Horwich, Little Lever and Westhoughton as the council looks to reinvigorate its district town centres.

By allocating extra funds to Bolton’s largest local centres, the council hopes to use its capital programme to focus on improving smaller centres such as Kearsley and Blackrod.

The further proposals have become possible after the council acquired additional private sector investment into its £100m town centre masterplan, which was first unveiled in 2017.

The proposed additional investment is subject to approval by the council’s cabinet on Monday 21 January.

Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Linda Thomas, said the proposed investment emphasises the council’s commitment to regenerating town centres across the borough.

She said: ‘This investment will deliver long-term benefits for local communities right across the borough, which is an absolute priority for us.

‘We are making really good progress on Bolton town centre with the private sector, which frees up some of the investment we’ve set aside.

‘We know that an overhaul is needed in local centres, and the issue of regeneration is a real sticking point for the communities. We have listened.

‘This proposed investment will help to regenerate, reinvigorate and reshape town centres to reflect changed shopping habits and to meet the requirements of what people now want.’

Each town involved in the proposals will now be supported in drawing up a development strategy and masterplan in consultation with local residents.

The level of funding that individual town centres will receive from the council will depend on the strength of their plan, with Farnworth already working on finalising its strategy.

Deputy Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Ebrahim Adia, said: ‘The wheels are already in motion to regenerate Farnworth and consultation is underway on proposals to include in their masterplan.

‘We expect to make a multi-million investment in the Farnworth town centre masterplan.

‘As with Farnworth, we would work with representatives from across the community, to help them shape their town centre plans.’

Bolton has already begun work on implementing its town centre masterplan as it bought the Crompton Place shopping centre for £14.8m last summer.

The council used funds from the £100m plan to acquire the shopping centre, which it plans to transform into a state-of-the-art retail and leisure complex.