Bolton Council: Backing local business

Meanwhile, we are investing in regeneration across the borough and working with our partners to create the vibrant, exciting, and prosperous neighbourhoods that all businesses will benefit from.

Alongside this, our dedicated Business Bolton team offers local businesses access to a varied range of support services to help them grow and thrive.

Bolton Town Hall, Victoria Square, Bolton (Image: Paul Heyes, Brand Bolton imagery 2023)
A ten-year plan for growth

Like towns and cities across the UK, Bolton’s economy is adapting to meet the challenges and opportunities of today’s business world.

Our ten-year Economic Growth and Resilience Plan has been drafted in the strong belief that public sector interventions can lead to positive change, particularly where we know that gaps exist, for example in creating better jobs or improving business productivity.

The plan is therefore focussed on the thematic areas of People, Business, and Investment.

Priorities for people include boosting wages, supporting residents into sustainable employment and matching skills training to the needs of employers.

The University of Bolton Campus (Image: Paul Heyes, Brand Bolton imagery 2023)
Working alongside the University, the focus will be on training and retaining people within Bolton and attracting the best people to develop and grow businesses within a borough that is open for business.

Priorities for business include creating new jobs in digital and health innovation, maximising the borough’s manufacturing strengths and helping firms to scale up.

There are significant opportunities for growth with Logistics North, Wingates and land at J5 M61 to build opportunities for businesses to grow and develop.

Priorities for investment are the diversification of the town centre, attracting new businesses to the borough and building more resilient communities.

The Grumpy Baker (Image: Bolton Council)
Building a business-friendly environment

Anyone visiting the town centre recently will have noticed how we are working with our development partners to deliver new housing, modern offices, and improved public spaces.

Innovative new projects can be seen right across Bolton Town centre, including the conversion of the Wellspring building into a £11m flexible workspace for digital and creative start-ups.

Elsewhere, a renovated Bolton Market and new Food Hall are an ideal space for small businesses of all kinds to start out.

Bolton Interchange, Newport Street, Bolton (Image: Paul Heyes, Brand Bolton imagery 2023)
Meanwhile, the Moor Lane, Deansgate Gardens and Church Wharf residential developments will bring thousands of new customers to the doorsteps of our town centre businesses.

Outside the centre, the Bolton Institute of Medical Sciences is a £40m new skills centre that will act as a catalyst for investment in the health innovation sector.

This regeneration work is backed by council strategies on improved transport, boosting the visitor economy, capitalising on our unique cultural offer and creating a new forward-thinking brand for our borough.

All of these developments will be very good for business, and we urge business owners to talk to us about the many exciting opportunities ahead.

Logistics North Drone (Image: Bolton Council)
Business Bolton: Support you can rely on

Our Business Bolton team are on hand to offer you support, advice and guidance whether you are an existing company or looking to invest.

We work with local and regional organisations across Greater Manchester to take your business to the next level and can connect you to both council and local services including business rates, procurement, and licensing.

Our team are also on hand to offer advice on development of your business plan, financing business growth and new ways to take a product or service to market.

Call us to find out more 01204 336222, email businessbolton@bolton.gov.uk and sign up for our newsletter at www.businessbolton.org.