BOLTON Council must block moves to allow a collection of important, early cotton textile machinery to be moved out of town.

The Arts Sub Committee wants to lend the collection, which includes Crompton's spinning mule, Hargreaves' Spinning Jenny and Arkwright's Water Frame, to the Helmshore Textile Museum for at least five years.

This collection is part of Bolton's heritage which we cannot afford to lose - even for five years. Our town was at the heart of the industrial revolution and this machinery is a reminder of that.

As Cllr Prentice Howarth pertinently pointed out, Bolton may well have a heritage centre of its own in five years.

Surely a place can be found in the interim period to house the collection so that it can be enjoyed not only by local people but also by visitors. It is important that our young people have an opportunity to see machinery which helped to make Bolton an important centre for the Industrial Revolution and the cotton industry in Lancashire.

It's a great pity no place was found to display the machinery since the closure of Tonge Moor Textile Museum in 1993. Perhaps room could be found for at least part of it at the School of Textiles at Bolton Institute of Higher Education.

But we feel strongly that not one piece of this machinery should leave town.

Far from allowing that, we should be highlighting the relics of our heritage in all our tourist literature and reminding everyone of Bolton's history and importance.

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