PLANS to spruce up town centres across Bolton — worth £305,000 — have been revealed

Improvement schemes have been drummed up for Kearsley, Blackrod, Westhoughton, Little Lever and Horwich, to help them regenerate and attract new investment.

Schemes big and small have been included in the strategy, from new park benches to the introduction of 20mph schemes to make the communities safer.

In addition thousands of pounds have been set aside for new businesses to take over empty units in Little Lever and Horwich.

Sean Harriss, chief executive of Bolton Council, said small changes such as buying new litter bins and weeding the areas can make a big difference to residents — and attract investment to Bolton.

He said: “A lot of it is about making people want to shop and spend time in the town centres, and the immediate environment and what people say create an impression.

“People have said they want is for us to make the environment one where people want to shop.”

He added: ”It is important that investment is shared where possible, and that citizens and businesses across the borough benefit.

Westhoughton has been designated the most funding with around £92,780.

Horwich has the next largest allocation with £71,890, while Little Lever has been designated £59,500.

The smaller areas of Kearsley and Blackrod have been given £31,395 and £49,764 each.

Cllr Cliff Morris, leader of Bolton Council, said money has been given to townships around the borough over the past four to five years, with up to £100,000 being given to an area each year to make improvement.

He said: “They are small improvements but it’s important for the people who live around there.

“We try to regenerate the towns, and when you look at areas like Westhoughton where money has been spent doing up their main streets — there’s some quite imaginative stuff going on.

“We look to the townships and some of them might only have a parade of shops, and not a high streets, but if we get the environment or the parking right it means people will stay there and use the shops.”

Councillors agreed in principle on Monday to spend the money to help regenerate the areas in schemes that will take place over the next two years.

 

TOWNSHIP REGENERATION

Kearsley plans include:

- Improving the ‘unsightly’ Kearsley Shopping Precinct by repairing fallen bollards, doing a litter pick and weed removal in the car park and installing new gold banded bollards at the entrance

- Replace broken benches

- Cleaning and weeding drains to stop the underpass from flooding

- Creating a new picnic bench for families to enjoy at Ringley Road, by the ancient bridge and Horseshoe pub

- Making traffic 20mph in the areas around Grosvenor Street, Hulme Road/Kearsley Meadows and Moss Lane

Horwich plans include:

- Putting new benches outside Spice Valley, Sparrow Park, Lloyds TSB and Sainsbury’s

- New flower troughs for railings at Chorley New Road and more litter bins

- Erecting a commemorative plaques celebrating Horwich’s railway heritage at the entrances of Old Station Park

- A £20,000 grant scheme to attract new businesses into empty shop units

- Jet washing and repairing the pavement on Winter Hey Lane, Lee Lane and Chorley New Road

Westhoughton plans include:

- More flower troughs and rail planters through the town centre

- Broken benches by Westhoughton High School to be fixed and new ones to be installed in Market Street

- More litter bins by Westhoughton Market and in the shopping streets

- Victorian-style street signs along Market Street, and new map boards showing walks at Hall Lee Bank Park, Cunningham Clough and Ditchfield Gardens

- Changing the sequencing of traffic signals at the junctions of Market Street, to make it better for buses

Little Lever plans include:

- New benches and additional waste bins in Mytham Park

- Move the recycling facilities in Foundry Street to the new Tesco site

- £12,000 for a dedicate business grants scheme in the area to attract new investment

- More enforcement action to stop dangerous parking on High Street

- Spending £25,000 to introduce a 20mph zone across the area, excluding the main route through Stopes Road, High Street, Market Street and Church Street

Blackrod plans include:

- Replacing the ‘old unsightly’ bench at the junction of Chorley Road and Manchester Road

- Resurfacing and formalising the car park area at the side of St Katherine’s Church

- Spending around £35,000 resurfacing roads throughout the area

- Creating a ‘refuge island’ with lit-up bollards at either end on the Vicarage Road junction with Manchester Road