THE first meeting of the East Bolton Regeneration Business Forum, held at Tonge Cricket Club, announced a major initiative to provide a comprehensive website for all businesses in the East Bolton area.

Business adviser Ted Martin said: "The project is fully-funded by Bolton Metro, Business Link and the European Regional Development Fund and will give businesses in East Bolton a major marketing advantage."

The project is being implemented with the help of East Bolton company, the MMM Group, whch is providing all the technical expertise and support.

"There is no need for any programming skills by businesses wishing to take advantage of this opportunity to promote their goods and services on the web," Mr Martin added.

"There are no limits to the number of web pages available and businesses can easily keep the site up to date themselves.

"With more than 20 design templates to choose from, this is definitely not a basic site and will have an e-commerce capability in the near future."

Fifteen businesses attended the first meeting of the Business Forum and received copies of the new SRB6 marketing brochure giving information on the support available for businesses from the East Bolton Growth and Competitiveness team.

The meeting was closed by Andrew Ratcliff, chief executive of Bolton and Bury Chamber, who encouraged all businesses in the East Bolton area to join the forum and make their voices heard in the way the future is shaped.

The next meeting is scheduled for early April at a date and location to be announced.

Businesses in the East Bolton Regeneration area requiring more information should contact Ted Martin on 01204 336158 or e-mail him at ted.martin@bolton.gov.uk