THE creation of a specialist cancer information service in Bolton is one step closer after commissioners approved a plan.

Although a formal bid, including how much the centre will cost, has not yet been submitted to Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), board members have voted in favour of a model that will be run with Bolton Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Care.

The decision comes eight years after campaigners set up Bolton Cancer Patients and Carers Consultative Group to work towards getting a specialist cancer support centre in the town.

It also comes 18 months after the group presented a petition, with 14,000 signatures on, to NHS Bolton asking for the facility.

The petition was organised after NHS Bolton, the Primary Care Trust which will be officially replaced by the CCG on April 1, withdrew its support to fund the centre in August 2010.

The group was dealt a further blow in June 2012, when land at the Royal Bolton Hospital, which had been earmarked for use as the cancer centre, was withdrawn from the plan.

Bolton CCG brought in external consultants to look at the issue, and they compiled a report with a proposed model, which was presented to the board.

Su Long, pictured, chief officer of the CCG, told board members that under the proposed model, the service would be created at Bolton Hospice and would “reach and support the community”. She said Macmillan was expected to fund the initial costs and staffing the cancer service is expected to cost the CCG £120,000 per year.

Dr Wirin Bhatiani, chairman of the CCG, said the support from Macmillan was “crucial” for the plan to work and the CCG could not “do this on our own”.

The report revealed Bolton is seen as an “exception” locally by not having a cancer information centre.

Karen Elliott, chairman of Bolton Cancer Patients and Carers Consultative Group, said: “It has taken a long time to get to this stage and I hope now that things will move faster.”