FOR 50 years Bolton and District Civic Trust has played a major part in conserving some of the borough's finest buildings and raising awareness about the town's heritage.

From buildings to green spaces and river corridors, the trust has worked hard to scrutinise developments and improve the outcome of planning applications to benefit the town.

Originally set up in 1964 to protect and preserve the architecture and heritage of the borough, the trust once had more than 450 members and 10 committees to deal with a variety of issues.

Made up of volunteers who offer their spare time to the cause, Bolton and District Civic Trust currently has 180 members who lend their support to a number of projects set out by the committee.

Current chairman Richard Shirres, who took over after Brian Tetlow passed away in March, hopes to continue the work of his predecessor but says that the hardest thing to overcome is public indifference.

He said: "Our main challenge is apathy and complacency about stewardship – whether that is about climate change or litter picking. We need to think about what kind of Bolton we would like and then actively do what we can to get it to that level. Do we want concrete or green spaces?

"We are always looking for new membership, even if it is just people turning up to our meetings and taking an interest. The more people we have the more likely we are to make a difference."

Dotted around Bolton town centre and beyond are mementoes of local historical figures, known affectionately as blue plaques.

Bolton boasts 18 of these historical plaques honouring local landmarks and legends, including steeplejack Fred Dibnah, footballer Alan Ball, and William Frederick Tillitson – the founder of the Bolton Evening News.

Mr Shirres said: "The Civic Trust is about more than just the blue plaques, although they are certainly an element of what we do, and if anyone thinks that someone should be honoured then they can get in touch with us about it."

Walk across Victoria Square and straight away you will see the trust's influence — it promoted the pedestrianisation of the town centre and has encouraged the cleaning of a variety of buildings.

Mr Shirres said: "We are also about encouraging intelligent planning. Planners are very privileged people — they get to shape the structure of the buildings in the area, and we want to encourage the preservation of historical buildings, or at least to make new builds fit seamlessly into our landscape.

"It's about the quality of life for the future of the town. We have some beautiful buildings in Bolton, and we want to make sure that they are clean, tidy and looked after."

The trust has led a number of campaigns in the past, such as those against litter and library closures.

Perhaps the most obvious and well known is the bronze Fred Dibnah statue in Oxford Street, which was supported by The Bolton News.

But many of the projects that the trust undertakes are subtle and understated, such as the tens of thousands of planted bulbs in roadside verges and schools.

Mr Shirres said: "Green space is very important. We have got a little bit of it but not nearly enough. It would be really good to try and break away from all the concrete and exert some more natural spaces.

"There are opportunities to bring in some fantastic green spaces to the town. We need to hang on to our heritage otherwise over time it will disappear — and that would be a tragedy."