THOUSANDS of people in Bolton are to be asked why they are proud to call the town their home.

They are to be consulted by council chiefs who want to stop Bolton becoming yet another "clone town" of chain stores and faceless office and housing developments.

The town's civic leaders are anxious to preserve Bolton's unique mediaeval, industrial and Victorian heritage at the same time as exciting developments take place.

People living in the town and those who own businesses are to be asked just why they think it is unique - and what makes them so proud of Bolton.

The results of the £40,000 survey - the Bolton Distinctiveness Study - will be used to create new planning guidelines aimed at keeping alive Bolton's history and traditions.

Mike Taylor, town centre urban design officer at Bolton Council, said: "We want to discover what people think is unique about Bolton and what makes it different from other towns.

"This is not a abstract project. We are looking to produce a document to influence all future planning decisions to make sure we have a town centre to proud of which reflects Bolton's best traditions and maintains its distinctive identity.

"It will be the biggest investigation of the feelings of the people of the town and how they live their lives since the 1930s."

Consultants want all the borough's age groups, cultures and social classes to take part in the study.

Older people in particular are being sought to talk about how the town has changed for the better - and for the worse.

A number of events will also be based around Bolton architecture week which begins in Monday, June 20.

Council leader Cllr Barbara Ronson believes the town centre has a "schizophrenic image" - but denied that it was undergoing an identity crisis.

She said: "This survey is about our own distinctiveness and trying to make sure that Bolton does not lose its unique identity.

Much of Bolton's image comes from the past and it is important that we look at what we can take from what has gone before and take that into the future.

"With all the development that is taking place, there is a danger we could lose sense of our identity much of which stems from periods of the town's history such as the Mediaeval, Georgian and Victorian eras."

The launch of the survey comes as an independent think tank, the New Economics Foundation, claims that chain stores across the country have spread like economic weeds" robbing centres of their individuality and shoppers of choice.

They class 42 per cent of British shopping centres as clone towns.

Some business leaders fear that Bolton has already lost much of its character and fear that the in the centre of the town particularly there is little to distinguish it from any other shopping centre.

Independent traders say they are finding it harder and harder to compete and fear they will eventually be pushed out by the major chains.

Marie Walsh, owner of Ye Olde Pastie Shop in Churchgate, said: "The bigger chains are taking over and so much of the old character of Bolton has gone.

"We have been a family business since 1898 and I hope that we have a bit more life left in us but we are losing more and more of the independent shops that have made Bolton a special place."

Peter Hardcastle, secretary of the Market Hall Traders' Association, accused the council of not doing enough to protect independent firms in the town centre, such as stallholders at the Market Hall, many of which look set to leave after planning permission was granted to transform the grade II-listed building into a modern mall.

He said: "They have no idea what they are throwing away. There are 64 independent traders in the Market Hall many of which will be lost overnight, with it there will be little difference between Bolton and any other shopping centre."

Andrew Dickson, the former owner of St Andrews Travel, added: "Bolton has not become a clone town just yet but the danger signs are there. We have had a wonderful mix of independent traders at the Market Hall and it would be a great loss."

A number of well-known independent businesses have gone out of business in Bolton in recent years, including Boydells toy shop, Oxendales locksmith and Whitehead's department store.

Town Centre manager Cathy Savage said a mix of major chains and independent retailers was important to a thriving town centre.

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undertaking a unique survey