EARLIER this month the proposal to mutilate the magnificent main facade of Bolton Town Hall was replaced by one to make the north side of the Town Hall into a series of entrances by adding a third one. It will further harm the fabric of the 1873 Grade II* Town Hall, by definition among the top 8% of the nation’s listed buildings.

This proposal was not presented as a new initiative but slipped through as an amendment to the earlier proposal. It stretches credulity to describe as an amendment the replacement of cafe terraces on the front by disabled access on the side.

Use of the amendment strategy enabled the Council to reduce the ‘consultation time’ from three weeks to a mere five working days. Only one of the relevant heritage bodies replied, others realised too late that they needed to respond immediately.

The public made no response, perhaps because it was advertised as part of a planning application for which the Council firmly stated, ‘The public consultation period for this application has ended. We are no longer accepting comments from the public on this application.’

I was one of only three members of the public who attended the planning committee meeting. Only two of us stayed for the debate.

The report to councillors set the tone, noting that, ‘The area in question is part of the original Victorian construction of the Town Hall; whilst it is easily visible it is clearly not as prominent or as striking as the main Victoria Square.’

This is rather like saying that it is better to lose your right foot than your left leg; undoubtedly true but what is the connection and surely it would be better to lose neither.

The bulk of the debate centred on the need to provide disabled access to the original part of the Town Hall. One councillor outraged because she said that the current access is ‘via the trades entrance’. Until recently the Town Hall provided disabled access for the Planning Committee, which instead met in July in the DDA-compliant Central Library. What has changed?

Councillors were presented with a single option for the scheme. One suggestion was use of the south side, where no external amendment is needed and the entrance is nearer the Octagon Theatre and the car park.

The officer’s report on the proposed north side ramp stated that, ‘At the time of writing ...discussions are currently taking place ....and will be finalised by the time of the meeting’. They were not, so the committee was reduced to speculation.

The legal officer said that any vote for approval could not be implemented, as, for a listed building, the approval of the Secretary of State is also needed, and he can hardly give planning approval when a plan is not in place.

Many councillors asked for a deferral so that they did not need to ‘vote blind’. One complained that to vote made them ‘look like idiots’.

Two votes were taken. One, to defer, was defeated. The other, to approve, was passed.

There is surely more to be discovered here. At least there the public can have their say at the Annual General Meeting of the Civic Trust, to be held tonight in the Hall at Bolton Parish Church.

Dr M M F Collier

Vice Chairman, Bolton and District Civic Trust