£1bn blueprint for Bolton town centre unveiled

A £1bn blueprint that will shape and transform the future of Bolton town centre up to 2030 and beyond has been published.

The master plan contains proposals to redevelop the town centre by creating 1,800 new homes, 7,400 new jobs and generating economic activity worth an additional £412M over five strategic sites.

The areas identified are: Trinity Quarter, Cheadle Square, Crompton Place, Church Wharf and Croal Valley.

Bolton Council announced initial details of the plan in July 2017 and the authority has since approved borrowing £100M to kick-start the project. The remainder of the plan will be funded by private sector investors.

The £100M will be used for a range of priorities including site assembly; getting sites ‘development ready’; public realm, and infrastructure.

It is hoped that work on the first phase of site clearance could start as early as Spring 2018.

Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Cliff Morris, said: “This master plan shows how forward thinking and ambitious this council really is.

“We now want to get to work as quickly as possible. We are already speaking to a number of developers and partners about delivering the different schemes outlined in the framework.

“Although it is ambitious we are confident that this is an achievable vision that identifies key areas of the town centre, and it will be a game-changer in terms of transforming the centre of Bolton.”

Some of the main proposals include:

• Trinity Quarter – creating a mixed Grade A office and residential development. A new hotel, office block and a multi-storey car park.
• Cheadle Square – developing housing and apartments on the former bus station site. On Queen Street, creating student housing and a mixed-used development to complement cultural venues such as the Octagon,
• Crompton Place – the framework envisages transforming the empty BHS store with an upper floor food court overlooking Victoria Square, exploring the possibility to expand Primark and creating a new pedestrian access between Bradshawgate and Hotel Street.
• Church Wharf – Church Wharf would be designated a new town centre ‘quarter’ with a mix of apartments and town houses, as well as a new pedestrian route along the River Croal.
• Croal Valley/Central Street – opening up the River Croal with an improved environment to make it a town centre feature.