Bolton Council hears Crompton Place 'meanwhile use'

Crompton Place shopping centre on Victoria Square is set to be demolished next year with further plans aiming to remake the space into a mixed-use food and drink and offices scheme.

A meeting of the council’s cabinet heard how there are also various ideas being put forward for the “meanwhile use” after the old building is demolished but before the new one is built.

Assistant director of development and regeneration, Paul Whittingham, said: “Meanwhile use could well be a play area to attract people and families and visitors to the town centre.

“It will very much depend on the cost of intervention and the budgets that we’ve got available."

The area around Crompton Place will be redeveloped (Image: Newsquest)

He added: “But as you’ve seen in many towns and cities, a five-year, seven-year period could be created whereby you have a mini-container village with activities and screens to attract people and get people to spend time people in that area."

Mr Whittingham drew on examples like the sheltered area at Cheshire Oaks and said that space could be used for opportunities for outdoor theatre or green space.

He said that a further report was planned to go before town hall on this.

Mr Whittingham had been responding to a question put by Cllr John Walsh, of Astley Bridge, who had asked what “meanwhile use” could involve.

Cllr Walsh had also asked what could be done to keep or protect a steel frame façade facing onto Victoria Square despite the demolition of Crompton Place.

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Mr Whittingham said that there had been a “certain amount of deterioration” of the façade and that the demolition would incorporate it.

But he said they had to be careful with the removal of the façade. 

He said: “The removal of that façade will enable part of the site and there are town options there.

“One is to take the whole length or the whole width of Crompton Place and a certain distance back into the site as a meanwhile use area.

“The other option is if you take the Cenotaph as the centre point and that will line out to Bradshawgate, then the area to the left round the back of HSBC and back to M&S will become a meanwhile use area.”