I HAVE a suggestion for Bolton Council, that will save a good deal of our money.

I read in the Bolton Evening News on Tuesday, June 7, that the council is to spend £40,000 on a survey that will ask us what we like about our town, in an effort to stop Bolton becoming a "clone town", full of chain stores and faceless developments.

But only a few months ago many thousands of people made their views very clear by signing a petition to keep the Market Hall as it is, and not have it spoilt by a faceless development, and turned over to yet more chain store clones.

Unfortunately, the council voted to send in the clones.

The council ignored the people's views then. Will they also ignore the new survey if they don't like the result?

Please, don't waste our money on a survey. Leave our Market Hall alone and make it the focus of a town centre that dares to be different - no more chain stores, no more cheapo emporiums, and definitely no more bars.

After all, when it comes to big name shopping, we can never compete with the Trafford Centre, or the newly improved Manchester City Centre. It's in Bolton's individuality that our future lies, the town has a great deal to recommend it (including the new bridge on Newport Street), so why not spend the £40,000 on helping smaller retailers to set up in town?

Mr M R Gregory

Cox Green Road

Bromley Cross