THE future of thousands of council homes across Bolton will be discussed by delegates staying in a four star Blackpool hotel -- at Bolton Council tax payers' expense.

Liberal Democrat Cllr David Wilkinson has strongly criticised the plans to send about 20 people connected with the group, Bolton At Home, on an overnight trip to the De Vere Herons' Reach Hotel to consider Bolton's housing and regeneration plans.

But the chairman of the Bolton at Home board, Cllr Noel Spencer, has defended the trip. He said the group will undergo a rigorous training programme to prepare them for December 1 when the organisation takes over the management of more than 20,000 council properties and starts work towards regenerating the town.

Cllr Wilkinson said: "I think it is ridiculous that they are going all the way to Blackpool to talk about housing in Bolton. It is a waste of money. Why can't they discuss it in Bolton?

"There are some council houses that are absolutely desperate for repairs. I think when tenants hear they are spending council money to go to Blackpool they will be livid." The 15-strong board and its senior management team will spend a night and a day at the hotel set in the Fylde coast countryside on November 29. Facilities include a heated swimming pool, steam room, sauna and jacuzzi, health and beauty salon and an 18-hole golf course.

When a Bolton Evening phoned the hotel, we were told it would cost £79 for a single room for a Friday night stay including breakfast. For two sharing it would cost £100. By contrast, Bolton's Pack Horse Hotel charges £55 for a single room, £70 for a double (£60 single occupancy) and £70 for a twin room.

But Cllr Spencer said he would not have decided to go on the weekend away unless he thought it was necessary. He said: "Bolton at Home is a massive undertaking. It is the biggest single investment Bolton has ever had. We want to make sure that when the programme unrolls, hopefully in the summer, everybody connected with it is fully aware of what we are trying to do."

He said the trip would serve as an intensive training programme which would ensure that all members understand all aspects of the organisation.

The board is made up of five councillors, five tenant representatives and five independent members, while the senior management team consists of about six council officers.

A Bolton Council housing department spokesman said the cost of the trip was negligible. She said it would be difficult to stage the event locally and added: "They all have full time jobs and it is hard for them all to find the time to meet together."

Key areas such as finance and the technical side of the investment will be fully explained.