Bolton Council approves £1bn transformation of town centre

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Sep 27, 2017

An ambitious £1bn masterplan has been approved to make Bolton town centre “fit for the future” with the redevelopment of five strategic sites.

Located in Greater Manchester in North West England, Bolton was recently named the 9th best place in the country for people to live and work in by Glassdoor, rivalling cities like Birmingham, Oxford and Belfast.

The redevelopment will include creating 7,400 new jobs, 1,800 new homes and generating economic activity worth an additional £412 million.

“Yes, our plan is ambitious, yes it is bold, and yes it is aspirational. We make no apologies for any of this,” said leader of Bolton Council Cllr Cliff Morris.

“The regeneration of the town centre is already underway with developments like the £27 million Market Place refurbishment and the £48 million Interchange.

“But more change is needed to make the town centre fit for the future and we are going to drive it forward as rapidly as we can.”

The areas identified for improvement in the masterplan are: Trinity Quarter, Cheadle Square, Crompton Place, Church Wharf and Croal Valley, which will get new residential and office schemes, pedestrian routes and a mixed used development to complement cultural venues.

The framework also includes transforming the empty BHS story at Crompton Place into an upper floor food court, and the possibility of expanding Primark.