A multi-million pound Westhoughton town centre scheme will ensure safety concerns are addressed for whose vision is impaired.

The scheme to replace the paths started in March.

Now tactile paving is to be installed after concerns were raised about the new pavement according to ward councillors.

Westhoughton town centre is currently being repaved, with Market Street, King Street and other streets in the area undergoing layout changes.

The changes aim to create a main road that is 'easier for pedestrians and cyclists to use' and to slow down car traffic under a £2.3 M scheme.

Part of the works includes extending pavements over junctions.

Cllr Martin Tighe says the further improvement is something that he has been working on for the past three months.

And after first raising it with the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, who raised it with the Royal National Institute of Blind People, Cllr Tighe and former councillor Andrea Finney met up with council officers.

The Bolton News: Cllr Martin Tighe said: “It’s a massive thing for those with mobility scooters, and the visually impaired.

“The guide dogs use Westhoughton Market Street to train their puppies, and the puppies have been trained to stop at the curb and know when there is a crossing or tactile paving.

“But because it is continuous paving dogs are walking straight out into the road because it is not picking up that there is a crossing.

“I witnessed someone almost get hit.”

The tactile paving - where Market Street meets a side street - means that those with guide dogs and canes can sense that there is paving and know that they are approaching a crossing.

The Bolton News: Cllr Tighe added: “Without tactile paving guide dogs are walking into the road, and leading service users into the road.

“If this can save someone’s life then it is worth it.”

The paving will still be continuous to aid those in mobility scooters, but before the pavement ends and the road starts there will be tactile paving.

Although an exact date is yet to be confirmed, work is expected to be carried out between November 6 and 20 following the completion of the resurfacing on Market Street.

Earlier this month resident Nia Faulder – who is a wheelchair user – raised concerns over the current paving, emphasising the importance of tactile paving.

Westhoughton town centre is currently being repaved, with Market Street, King Street and other streets in the area undergoing layout changes.

The changes aim to create a main road that is 'easier for pedestrians and cyclists to use' and to slow down car traffic under a £2.3 M scheme.

Part of the works includes extending pavements over junctions.

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