Bolton: New streetlighting installed around St Helena Road

The £6,500 lights have now been installed along St Helena Road, between St Helena Mill and Bark Street, close to the surface level NCP car park.

Cllr Richard Silvester, who represents the Queens Park and Central ward which includes much of the town centre, says that various members of the public had asked about this.

He said: “The new street lighting has made a huge difference and the road is now much safer for pedestrians to use after dark.

“People can now see where they want to get to and who else is in this area.”

The lights have been put up around St Helena Road (Image: Streetlights)

Cllr Silvester, who also sits as Bolton Council cabinet member for climate change and the environment, says that people had previously had to go along the road in “complete darkness” in the evening in order to reach the car park.

This had raised concerns about public safety, especially as the nights draw in over the winter months.

The lights could help improve public safety (Image: Streetlights)

The area north of St Helena Road is also being developed into a housing scheme by Forshaw construction, which is expected to be completed by February or March next year.

This is likely to increase the number of people living in the area and increase the demand for better lighting and public safety around St Helena Road.

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Financing for the new lights was released by Ward Area Forum funding, a system that is soon set to be replaced by Community Alliances.

The new lighting for St Helena Road also comes not long after Bolton Council announced in October that around £600,000 funding had been granted for separate lighting installations around the town centre.

Cllr Hamid Khurram, cabinet member for planning, housing and highways, told the council last month that an “action group” made up of Greater Manchester Police, CCTV operators and others would come together to look at street lighting levels and needs around the town centre.

He also said officers were also looking at replacing the lighting around the first floor of the town hall , the basement lights on Le Mans Crescent and street lighting on Knowsley Street, Bridge Street and Victoria Square.