THE government's proposed Regional Development Agency for the North-west should be based in Bolton.

This is the view of a leading member of the local business community, Mr Paul Davidson, Chief Executive of enterprise agency Bolton Business Ventures in Lower Bridgeman Street.

Mr Davidson is now seeking other opinions in the town.

"I am keen to put a group together which would submit a formal proposal that the agency should be based in Bolton," Mr Davidson said today. Mr Richard Caborn, Minister for the Regions in the new Labour Government, has launched a consultation exercise on the new bodies, which would aim to provide effective, properly co-ordinated regional economic development throughout the country.

The Regional Development Agency for the North-west is due to begin operating in April, 1999 and the government wants to hear views from all quarters.

It is encouraging a partnership approach which would co-ordinate the activities of all interests including local government, the business community and the higher education institutions.

Bolton - which has strong partnership links between the public and private sectors - will no doubt be making its views on the RDA known before September 5, the last date for responses.

The location of this important organisation - vital to the prosperity of the whole region - is one of the issues which has to be decided.

The government is keen to discourage parochialism, but civic leaders in places such as Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Warrington - and Bolton - might feel their cities or towns would gain some prestige from providing the base for this major regional initiative.

Mr Davidson said today that Bolton was ideally-placed geo- graphically and it had already demonstrated that it could make the partnership approach work.

Developments such as the new Bolton Wanderers complex and the likely university status for Bolton Institute backed-up the "Altogether Better" image. I think Bolton has a lot to offer the region and I would like to see if other people share that view," he said.

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