BOLTON: New public park including a ‘performance space’ set for Bolton town centre

Plans have been drawn up to develop the new park on the site of the former Odeon cinema site on Ashburner Street and Blackhorse Street.

The transformation of the derelict area, close to the town’s market hall and the site of the recently approved Moor Lane housing development, is part of ‘Towns Fund’ grants given to the authority by central government.

Martyn Cox, Leader of the Council, said: “We’re doing a lot of investment in the town centre at the moment, in terms of housing and I want to ensure that the people we’re going to be providing accommodation for will have a nice green space to enjoy.

“It appears that the former Odeon site was the perfect place for it and it will be one of the first parks we have built for the town centre for a long time.

“The town centre needs an area like this and it’s exactly what the town needs to make it even more attractive.

“There’s been a lot of negativity about the town centre but we’ve got a few things in the pipeline that we hope will improve the situation and make sure the people there have a space where they can go an enjoy themselves.

“It’s a very positive thing and I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

A design and access report in support of the plans, stated: “The proposals for the former Odeon cinema site look to bring green open space into the heart of Bolton; providing a park which is open, accessible, and welcoming for the community and visitors.

Park 3

“The park will deliver a green space which ties in to a street upgrade on Ashburner Street, providing a complementary and open frontage to this street, as well as Blackhorse Street and Back Spring Gardens.

“The boundaries of the park are typically open with a planted frontage between the street and the park to provide a soft edge.

“The park draws on the history of the site as a former Odeon cinema, re-using elements of red brick and steel beams from the former building and retaining these in the design.”

The report said that the park will provide a mix of flexible, open spaces with lawns, a performance area and a paved space with seating and picnic tables.

The northern half of the park will a softer landscape while the southern half of the park will feature more hard paving, centred around

an open events space where stages or food trucks could be brought for temporary events such as music or drama performances or food fairs.

Park2

Around the events space will be areas of seating to form a picnic and gathering area and bench seating for events and performances.

The planning documents added that subject to planning permission being granted, the expectation was to deliver the project by September 2022.

The Odeon

In 2021 Bolton Council were successful in securing funding for the public realm and connections project, part of their wider application for the Towns Fund grant for five regenerative projects within the town centre civic and cultural quarter.

The park is set to be the first project delivered as part of that funding.