BOLTON'S town councils are set to take over more services run by the local authority as part of a radical shake-up of lower tier government.

Some of the services Bolton's three town councils and surrounding parishes could be running include markets, parking, litter collection, street lighting, road safety measures and some aspects of leisure and tourism, libraries and museums.

The proposals, set out in the Government's consultative Rural White Paper, aim to streamline the 10,000 English parishes by turning them into "quality" councils.

Every local authority will be expected to adopt a model "parish charter" setting out arrangements for joint working and parish involvement in service delivery.

The news has been welcomed by Horwich, Westhoughton and Blackrod town councils -- but concerns were raised that the hand-downs must be coupled with bigger budgets.

Leader of Horwich Town Council and Bolton Council executive member for local working Cllr Michael Kilcoyne says the move will bring some services closer to the people.

He said: "There are some responsibilities that I think the parishes will not want such as the enforcement of parking. But there are some things that will be better dealt with at local level.

"Street naming is a good example because residents have the local knowledge. But we would want the budgets to follow. We will be seeking to move forward with this and should have a local debate about the services we can provide."

The White Paper is expected to look at the funding, which currently costs council taxpayers in parished areas between £15 and 25 a year. Horwich Town Council's annual budget is £120,000, which would only pay for a fraction of these services.

There are around 25,000 parishioners in Westhoughton, 20,000 in Horwich, and 6,000 in Blackrod.

Westhoughton Town Council leader and Bolton councillor David Wilkinson says it is one of the best things that could happen.

"Small is beautiful," he said. "It is the right step because local people should be running local services.

"People are fed up of big government. There are mountains of paperwork but nothing gets done. At the moment people don't think they can make a difference, but this way they can. This move will get more people involved in local democracy."

Conservative members of the Local Government Association say the news will be greeted like a lead balloon by many parishes who will not want "yet more bureaucracy dumped upon them".

But North Turton Parish Council chairman Marion Thomas, a Conservative, disagrees.

"We are a progressive council and would be quite happy to take on some of these services. I am looking forward to seeing the consultation document," she said.

Blackrod Town Council chairman and Mayor, Cllr Pat Barrow, said: "This is something we have waited years to see. We are the ones who see what is happening around here everyday."

Launching the paper, which now invites comments before a possible debate in parliament, rural affairs minister Alum Michael said the move was not about changing roles in lower tier government.

To meet this new "quality" status Bolton's three town councils will need properly training clerks and councillors, for which £2 million of Government money has been set aside for training across the country.

Further information is available on the DELR's website: www.delr.gov.uk