Residents are being urged to have their say on Bolton town centre to help the council access up to £25m government investment.
Last September, Bolton was named as one of a 101 places in the UK in line to receive up to £25m from the £3.6 billion Towns Fund, which aims to ‘support towns to build prosperous futures’.
A local Town Deal Board, made up of representatives from key public and private sector organisations, was formed in January to steer Bolton’s vision and objectives for the funding.
The priorities for investment will be concentrate on one of Bolton Town Centre Masterplan’s key intervention areas – Cheadle Square (the area between Bolton Town Hall and Moor Lane).
The board is now asking local people to have their say to ensure that the vision is shaped and supported by the people who live and work in the borough.
A public consultation has started and will end on 19 August at midnight. Fill in a short online questionnaire online at: https://investinbolton.com/townsfund/
Residents can also pick up a paper survey at a local library – Breightmet; Central; Farnworth, Harwood; Horwich, and Westhoughton.
Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr David Greenhalgh, said: “This is a very exciting time for Bolton and it is important to us that you have your say in how you would like to see us spend this investment.
“There are huge opportunities with up to an extra £75m for our borough through funding from the Towns Fund, as well as the Future High Street Fund. So get involved and have your say.
“Together these funds provide opportunities for significant levels of investment, particularly at this challenging time, which will help drive Bolton forward in the future together with our £1.2 billion Masterplan, and District Centre plans.”
Bolton is one of only four towns in Greater Manchester set to benefit from the Towns Fund and consultation responses will help the authority to put together a strong business case for the proposed investment.
Two surveys will be available – seeking to establish the general public and specifically young people’s views on the town centre including what they use it for, where they want to see improvement and their priorities for investment.
The authority will also be consulting specific groups including businesses.
Deputy Leader, Cllr Martyn Cox, added: “The more responses we get, the stronger our plan will be.
“This is a real opportunity to secure funding for Bolton.
“We need the people to comment to ensure that those who live and work here help shape this plan for future generations.”
The Towns Fund proposal is additional to two, recently submitted, £25m bids for government Future High Street funding – one for Bolton town centre and one for Farnworth town centre.