Bolton: Market Place Debenhams' plans on hold after funding blow

The ambitious plans would have seen the empty space in the Market Place shopping centre transformed into music venues, leisure facilities and even roof top football pitches.

The plans were given the greenlight just last week by Bolton Council but will have to wait after the borough’s bid for £20million of levelling up funding was turned down by the government.

A Bolton Council spokesperson said: “These plans were submitted as part of our Levelling Up fund bid for the town centre.

“This is in line with the criteria of the fund, which states that proposed schemes should be ‘shovel ready’ before a funding decision is made.

The plans included new leisure, sport and music facilities (Image: Bolton Council)

“We will continue to explore funding opportunities for Market Place, which is the key retail anchor in the town centre.

“In line with our town centre masterplan, we aim to secure Market Place as a destination for visitors and shoppers into the future.”

The closure of Debenhams was one of the most crushing blows dealt to the town centre during the economic storm left in the wake of the pandemic.

The historic retailer closed its doors for the last time in May 2021, which was marked by emotional scenes as shoppers made their way out for the last time, applauding as the shutters came down.

The store has been vacant ever since but officials still hope the space can be used in future.

A Market Place spokesperson said: "The Market Place is seen as the premier retail, leisure and hospitality destination.

"The planning application will enable the former Debenhams space to be right sized and repositioned.

"Whilst this will be occupier led it will hopefully attract alternative occupiers to the space."

Bolton Council’s far reaching plans to transform the site were lodged after its owners Moorgarth Retail admitted they saw no prospect of selling it.

But the Department for Levelling Up’s decision, announced on January 18 this year, to throw out the bid for funding will mean that the project will stay at the planning stage for now with the former Debenhams site remaining vacant in the meantime.

The town centre bid also included plans to create a new hotel on Le Mans Crescent while a separate £20million bid aimed to fund a new traffic light system along De Havilland way.

All of this has now been turned down by Whitehall along with various other levelling up projects across the country.

In response, Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi has said the government’s failure to fund projects like these has left the town’s high street ‘on life support’, especially given recent blows like the announcement that Marks and Spencer on Deansgate is set to close.

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She said: “The Government were elected on a manifesto commitment to level up regions and towns like Bolton, yet the longer time goes on, the more we see it was purely a soundbite with no real substance.

“High streets have of course faced pressures with the rise of the internet and online retailers, but with an active state, which supports businesses, we can have a flourishing high street and commercial centre.”

“Yet Bolton’s high street is on life support and we see no real ambition from a Government content with standing by as our town suffers.”