TUMBLEWEED blowing across a deserted Victoria Square...

That was the colourful image conjured up by local businessman Andrew Dickson in June 1998 when he expressed fears in the BEN about the potential threat to Bolton town centre from rival shopping attractions such as the Trafford Centre and the Middlebrook complex at Lostock.

It does not seem to have happened yet, but there seems to be general agreement that there are fewer town centre shoppers than there used to be.

Mr Dickson, a fiercely loyal advocate for Bolton, runs St Andrews Travel and expects to take a leading role when the re-organised Bolton and Bury Chamber begins operations next spring.

He is a big fan of the Bolton Town Centre Company (led by manager Karen Wheeldon) and praises initiatives such as the introduction of ambassadors to help visitors, attempts to control litter and the imaginative covered ice rink which will operate in front of the town hall from November 30 to January 4 -- helping to draw seasonal visitors to Bolton.

Bolton has responded to outside threats, he believes, but thinks there is still a lot to be done.

"I don't think they have responded from the public sector enough," he said.

He also discussed the problems motorists face when they come to town. It seems self-evident that many choose instead to drive to centres such as Middlebrook, Trinity Retail Park and the Bolton Gate development.

"Parking is too expensive in the town centre and there isn't enough of it," he said.

And he is decidedly not keen on the council wardens who now police on-street parking.

"You see packs of four or five wardens comparing notes," he said.

The "evening economy" is becoming one of Bolton town centre's strengths, but Mr Dickson sees a downside in the amount of rubbish left behind -- bottles, glasses, cartons of half-eaten food and discarded promotional leaflets from Bolton clubs.

He thinks the clubs should take more responsibility for clearing up the leaflets and cannot understand why pub managers do not always move bottles and glasses left outside on their window sills.

It would be better also, he says, if more resources could be put into early morning council street cleaning services to emulate the way Paris and Rome, for instance, prepare for the day ahead.

Another trenchant local businessman, Peter Green, is the Churchgate proprietor of the Sandwich Inn, a local institution for 32 years.

His main office-based business is topped up with people who are doing their shopping.

But he has no doubts -- there are fewer shoppers and shops around and the situation is going to get worse.

"The decline corresponds with the opening of Middlebrook," he said.

He notes that many motorists pay £1 to park in Bolton town centre and then rush to make sure they get back before the hour is up.

It means they are unable to enjoy a leisurely stroll around town, spending more perhaps.

After watching an elderly woman collect a £40 parking fine near his premises, he added waspishly: "I think the council will give over running the town soon and give it to the brewers to look after."