A PIONEERING youth project is a step closer to getting underway.

Westhoughton Town Council has given the go-ahead for the first instalment of a £125,000 grant for the Get Active Westhoughton project. A £40, 571 payment has been approved for the upcoming financial year.

The joint venture, between the council's youth services team and sport, health and inclusion officers, is aimed at combating anti-social behaviour on Westhoughton streets and encouraging wider participation in sports and physical activity. It will run over three years.

Westhoughton North and Chew Moor councillor, Arthur Price, said: "This will be good for the youth of Westhoughton, I'm keen to get it up and running."

A launch date has yet to be confirmed but Bolton Council officers initially hoped that the project would be running by April.