BOLTON is to lead the fight in a pioneering town centre trade crusade against competition from massive retail parks. The town will be at the forefront of a 27-strong town consortium formed to smash the threat of out-of-town shopping complexes. The move, particularly aimed at curbing competition from Trafford's enormous "shopping city" at Dumplington, will see town centre managers from throughout the North-west joining forces to discuss how best to do battle with retail park power to pull in shoppers.

Bury, Leigh, Eccles and Manchester are among other participants in the scheme stretching from Barrow-in-Furness in the north to Stoke-on-Trent.

Research has revealed that towns including Bolton could lose 15 per cent of trade over the next three years facing competition from developments like the Trafford Centre, which is due to open in October hosting store giants including Selfridges and Debenhams.

But today consortium organisers said they were confident that the newly-formed group, a UK first, could help keep town centre High Streets alive despite the forecasts of doom.

Bolton's town centre manager Maria Appleton, who is heading the scheme as chairman, said the initiative would allow participants to fully exploit their retail, leisure and tourism potential by working together.

She said: "Town centres play a vital role for our communities and our job is to make them exciting retail and leisure destinations. High Streets remain the most popular locations and we intend to work hard to ensure they stay that way."

Scheme aims will include regular meetings to pool knowledge, exchange ideas and discuss battle plans to boost trade and tourism.

Many Bolton traders are worried that retail parks, particularly the "shopping city" at Trafford, will send them out of business.

But late last year the town centre was boosted for the fight by enjoying one of its busiest Christmas periods for decades

The BEN also recently revealed how stallholders in the Market Hall had taken customer service lessons in a bid to beat the threat of Dumplington.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.