Delays to Bolton's transformation 'outrageous'

A delay of more than two years to plans for a £20m transformation of Bolton's town centre has been described as "outrageous" by an opposition councillor.

The BBC can reveal that Bolton Council only just signed off on a renegotiated £15m contract to redevelop the area this month, despite their bid for the Levelling Up cash being approved by the Conservative government in 2023.

Conservative councillor Martyn Cox, who was the previous leader of the now Labour-run council, said he made the original bid and progress on the plans "should never have taken this long".

A spokesman for the authority said plans had "changed in that time", with a hotel on Le Mans Crescent no longer required.

The £20m in cash was allocated for projects to transform Market Place and Le Mans Crescent to attract more visitors and shoppers to the town.

It followed the award of a separate £20m in Levelling Up cash to help pay for the construction of the £40m Bolton Institute of Medical Sciences building on the Royal Bolton Hospital site in Farnworth.

The council spokesman said the town centre grant had been renegotiated "after lengthy discussions" with the government and will be distributed over the next two years.

With the £5m from leftover from the original £20m bid "reallocated to other town centre projects".

"It's outrageous it's taken so long," Cox said.

He spoke outside the derelict Marks and Spencer site in the centre, which closed in April 2023 after 100 years of trading.

"That should tell the government something. The way they're handling these bids needs dramatic reform."

The proposal to help regenerate Bolton's high street was rejected in June 2022, before being "unexpectedly approved" by the government in November 2023.

The BBC understands the newly agreed £15m will be distributed over the next two years.

Resident Ian Johnstone, 73, describes the delays as "scandalous", adding that the town centre is now a "ghost town".

He said the town is "crying out for regeneration", and pointed to delays in demolishing the vacant shopping mall at Crompton Place.

The council spokesman said regeneration in the town was "entering an exciting new phase" with the empty precinct set to be demolished in the summer.

He said there had been "significant progress on several regeneration projects including Farnworth Green, Moor Lane, Deansgate Gardens, The Wellsprings and The Bolton Institute of Medical Sciences".

But Susan Mather, 63, from Halliwell said something needed "to be done quick as the town centre is rubbish".

"Everyone I speak to says 'I don't know why I come to Bolton'," she continues. "I prefer going to Bury."

"I think we've had the idea of regenerating the town for some time now," said councillor Gary Veevers, leader of the Liberal Democrat group.

"The whole thing seems to have been dragged out and protracted and these regeneration programmes really need to speed up."

Earlier this March, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said the borough would get a Mayoral Development Corporation, similar to Stockport.

The town is also bidding to become the first English host of golf's Ryder Cup in more than 30 years, with Burnham announcing a £70m package to help secure the bid.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson put "levelling up" at the heart of the Conservatives' election-winning manifesto in 2019.

But a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: "Having listened to local authorities, we recognise the Levelling Up Fund was not fit for purpose and that's exactly why we brought this together into a single pot through the Local Regeneration Fund.

"This means councils like Bolton have greater control over how this money is spent to deliver real, lasting benefit for local people – having already received over £57 million of grant funding to revive community hubs and upgrade public services."

Reform UK councillor Sue Haworth said: "Overall residents are deeply dissatisfied with Bolton town centre as there are just too many parts, that look very run down and put many people off coming here."

She added: "There is a shocking mismatch of numbers of retail and commercial premises, many closed and decrepit, compared to low demand for them over the last couple of decades."

Communities First, Farnworth and Kearsley First, Horwich and Blackrod First Independents have all been approached for comment.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.