IT feels like a small victory for democracy that Bolton Council is re-thinking its dramatic plans to cut into Bolton Town Hall’s magnificent structure.

Alternative options to regenerate the historic building in Victoria Square are being considered after a public backlash against creating a café and restaurant scheme there. This would have meant moving the fountains and cutting into the historic Victorian building.

Councillors have now deferred a decision on its future while alternative plans are put together. Few would perhaps argue with Council leader Cllr Cliff Morris’s stated need to make the town hall “sustainable and accessible” for the people of Bolton. But the plan has proved deeply unpopular with local residents.

Given that the thousands who objected to losing Bolton Market Hall had their views ignored at the time by the Council, it’s at least a heartening step forward that they are now listening to the public’s views.