A new initiative will make Bolton town centre the “number one target for regeneration” in the region.
This comes after Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham pledged to create a “Mayoral Development Corporation” for Bolton if re-elected last month.
A few days before polling stations opened, Burnham travelled to Bolton to announce that, if re-elected, he’d “move quickly to establish the new Bolton Mayoral Development Corporation with a high-profile Chair”. Like GM’s other MDC in Stockport, the proposed Bolton version will cover the town centre.
Bolton Council leader, Nick Peel says that moves to establish the body are well underway and that he hopes this will build on the various projects around the borough.
Cllr Peel said: “Bolton Council remains in charge, we are still the decision maker on planning, zoning and so on.
“But what the Mayoral Development Corporation will do is put a spotlight on Bolton as the number one regeneration target for Greater Manchester.
“The result of that is that it will put private sector investors’ attentions onto Bolton, bringing in people with money to spend.
“The council is already a trusted partner for private investors, so this will make us even more of an attractive proposition.”
The new Mayoral Development Corporation will be only the second organisation of its kind to have been set up in the region.
The was created in Stockport after having first been proposed in 2019 with the aim of driving regeneration and investment in the town centre.
The new body to be created in Bolton will aim to do similar and in particular will aim to offset the loss of well-known high-street names like Marks and Spencer from Deansgate.
Cllr Peel has said he hopes that the corporation’s work will dovetail with regeneration projects that have already been in place around Bolton town centre like the Moor Lane housing plan.
This would also follow on from completed schemes like the creation of Elizabeth Park and the expansion of Bolton Market with its new food hall.
Cllr Peel said: “I think what’s important to say that there is already a lot of regeneration going on around Bolton that the council has been leading on.
“That will continue to be the case, but this means we have the added resources and focus of Greater Manchester behind us.”