Bolton Town Centre Masterplan: What is happening now and in the future

At the corner of Black Horse Street and Ashburner Street several separate redevelopment projects, all happening within a short walk of each other can be seen shaping up

The cranes, steel frames and heavy machinery are transforming Bolton turning the council’s town centre masterplan into a reality.

Restoration at Bolton Library. Picture by Paul Heyes

Backed by the government’s Towns Fund, work is well underway to modernise Bolton Market, add a food hall and expand the outdoor area.

Just next door to the market, Step Places and social housing provider Bolton at Home are working with Bolton Council on the Moor Lane development.

The project will transform the 4.5-acre former bus station site into 208 new homes, with green spaces and shops.

Demolition work is now completed on the nearby row of vacant shops, the archaeological works have concluded on the main site with remediation works close to completion.

A little further along, a major refurbishment of Bolton Central Library is also being funded by the government’s Towns Fund.

Visitors will also notice the rejuvenated public space in this part of town, with new paving and benches added along Ashburner Street as part of another Towns Fund initiative.

This will be complemented by plans to create a new green space in Bolton town centre on the site of the former Odeon cinema.

READ MORE: Bolton Market: Open for business as major improvement work continues

Planning permission was secured in June for Elizabeth Park, which will be named after the late monarch and will feature seating areas, picnic tables and a performance space.

An additional £7.24m is being spent on improving the public areas around Black Horse Street and making the town centre greener to create even more spaces for visitors to enjoy.

More work will start in this part of town in 2023 with the fourth of Bolton’s Towns Fund projects – a comprehensive £7.24m upgrade and refurbishment of the council-owned Wellsprings office building.

Once completed, the building will serve as an innovation hub attracting digital and creative industries with a modern, highly flexible workspace in the centre of Bolton.

Wellsprings Hub. Picture by Paul Heyes

Across Victoria Square, the council continues to explore options to renovate Crompton Place Shopping Centre and deliver a mixture of new commercial, retail, leisure and hospitality opportunities.

In the meantime, Bolton Council aims to maximise this key asset by relocating a number of council services into the building.

Crompton Place is currently home to the temporary Bolton Central Library and the highly-respected Workshop team offering skills and employability training for local residents.

READ MORE: FIRST LOOK: Bolton Library uncovers the past to create a library fit for the future

The council recently reopened the Crompton Place car park including an introductory offer of four hours of free parking for Christmas shoppers.

The building has also hosted a wide range of activities during major events, including the roller rink at this year’s Christmas Festival.

Elsewhere in town, new paving has been added to Deansgate and site preparation works continue at Central Street where Placefirst will deliver 167 town centre homes.

More exciting news could come in the new year after the government confirmed the latest round of Levelling Up funding will be announced at the end of January.

Transformation of town. Picture Paul Heyes

Bolton has submitted two funding bids, the first to address congestion issues along De Havilland Way, and a second that would deliver three transformational town centre projects.

READ MORE: BOLTON MASTERPLAN: Work taking place in districts areas

If successful, funding would be used to create a modern hotel and conference complex at Le Mans Crescent and the Albert Halls, deliver a re-imagined Market Place shopping centre and open up historic Mawdsley Street.

Bolton Council Leader, Cllr Martyn Cox, said: “Anyone visiting Bolton town centre will notice a number of significant construction projects are well underway as the council delivers on its regeneration masterplan.

“Individually each of these projects is an exciting opportunity for Bolton, but taken together they represent a wider vision to make our town a more vibrant and exciting place to live, work and visit.

“However, this is just the start and we look forward to more work beginning in 2023 and beyond.”