MAY I take this opportunity to thank Bolton Council for finally selling Smithills Estate to the Woodland Trust; this should be good for the estates of Smithills, good for the ratepayers of Bolton and, hopefully, it will stop any further development on Smithills Estate. Some of the money will be spent repairing Smithills Hall and I would sincerely hope that some of the money will be spent on a ‘deep clean’ of the Hall. The Council has made a wise decision in this and I thank all members concerned most sincerely. I would also like to say a big ‘thank you’ to David Mee who has done his best for Smithills Hall and Country Park over the years.

Ian Greenhalgh Smithills