SIR: It was good to see that Arnold Wilcox-Wood's heart still belongs to Bolton.

Yes, the new Trafford Centre is a threat and a massive challenge to the Council and to all the stakeholders in Bolton Town Centre.

Mr Wilcox-Wood is right - the borough of Bolton is facing a challenge in the battle of the tills, but so is every other town in Greater Manchester. We are all working to make our centres more attractive to shoppers.

There are many plus points for Bolton, such as the major investments by two of the country's leading retailers, Marks and Spencer and Boots, who in the last few months have opened new or expanded outlets in Bolton. There are other activities such as the redevelopment of the former Co-op site and a seven-figure sum was spent on a major upgrading for Crompton Place. Whitakers has been revamped by its new owners to make the store more attractive and other retailers have similar plans.

Bolton has a deserved reputation as a top shopping centre, it's something we have built on over the years, and shortly the new-look Bolton Market on Ashburner Street will be fully open.

I just do not think an out-of-town mall can provide the wide choice people find in their own local shopping streets. People will go to Dumplington - there's no doubt about that because there's a curiosity about it - but then they'll return to Bolton and our other centres and that's what we and our partners have to work at, to ensure it happens.

Councillor R L Howard

Leader of the Council

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