Bolton Council leader delivers New Year's Day message

We know many residents are concerned about the town centre and want to see it revitalised, we have made it our top priority and have been working very hard to ensure the regeneration you want to see, is a success.

You’ll see if you come and visit, the huge redevelopment of the former Moor Lane bus station is now underway providing quality homes on a brownfield site.

The extension and refurbishment of the Market Hall is now underway, as is, a £3 million investment in our Library. It will look fabulous when it reopens.

This investment in our library service is the biggest in a generation and underlines our commitment to put libraries at the heart of our community.

Picture by Paul Hayes (Image: Newsquest)

In the early new year the central street site regeneration project, where the Blue Boar pub used to stand will commence.

This is a £40 million pound project to provide quality apartments in the town centre, bringing people and life into the heart of our town.

Work will also commence on Elizabeth Park, named after our late and much loved Queen, sited on the former Odeon cinema site, this represents the first new park to be built in the town centre in living memory.

We also have a £20 million levelling up bid to redevelop Le Mans Crescent and to invest in the Market Place to ensure it becomes the town's premier leisure and retail destination.

All this and much more as huge projects at Trinity Street and Church Wharf get underway.

2023 will be Bolton’s year, we are not however neglecting our important district centres.

The £35 million regeneration of Farnworth known as Farnworth Green is now underway, helping to transform Farnworth town centre. I’m really pleased to see how partnership working is benefitting Farnworth residents who have waited for this sort of transformation for a long time.

A project to bring to life Westhoughton Town Hall and Market Street are also planned for February ensuring the success of Westhoughton Town Centre is built upon.

Projects are also planned or underway in Little Lever and Horwich, with a second £20 million levelling up bid, centred on Horwich to improve traffic congestion on De Havilland Way.

I’ve been really pleased to see a revitalised police force who in the last 12 months, under new leadership, have seen, the custody suite reopened, the number of arrests doubled, and the braking up and disrupting of criminal gangs across the town, with operation Avro in the summer being a particular highlight. My heartfelt thanks to all our policemen and women. It’s been great seeing you get stuck in.

We will continue as a council, to work hand in hand with our forces of law and order to make sure policing in Bolton is the best it can be.

The massive success of the food and drink festival with 500,000 people visiting the town centre last summer is a glimpse of what we can achieve when we work as a team and we will be back next summer with an even bigger and better food and drink festival.

Moving in 2023 we want to bring some order to Bradshawgate, you’ve made it clear you want this area cleaned up, so that the town centre can be enjoyed by all our residents, we hear you loud and clear - watch this space.

We have worked hard with partners in GM to see that Bolton is no longer a soft touch when it comes to the rehousing of refugees and asylum seekers.

Bolton is a tolerant and generous town, we have done far more than our fair share in accommodating people fleeing persecution but now is the time for others to take some responsibility. We will continue to push back hard against any attempts to take advantage of Bolton’s generosity.

We are ambitious for Bolton but we can’t do it on our own, so we work hand in hand with some wonderful partners who share that ambition and I can’t thank those partners enough. But we need to do more. In early 2023 we will be hosting an investor conference in the town hall to get more local private partners on board. So many of you have asked me how you can help regenerate the town, you love so much. It’s now time to open up opportunities to the talents of our all people. Especially those of you in the private sector than can contribute so much.

Covid hit Bolton hard and we know some people are suffering genuine hardship and the council will do all it can to support families in distress, we won’t leave behind those that need our help during this painful time of high inflation.

Picture by Paul Hayes (Image: Paul Hayes)

We know that Bolton has a real chance to redevelop itself into a town were we retain our talented young people, develop the skills of our working population and look after our elderly.

I’ve lived in Bolton for over 50 years and I’m determined to bring about the change I know so many of you want to see.

Going into 2023, I and my colleagues will give it all we have to deliver for our residents.

You’ve been incredibly patient but now is the time to make 2023, the 150th anniversary of the opening of the town hall, the year where words are turned into action and we restore the pride that so many of you have in our town.

Happy New Year to you all of you.

Cllr Martyn Cox

Leader of Bolton Council