PLANS to spend £3 million sprucing up Newport Street will be formally submitted to the Town Hall 'imminently', The Bolton News has learnt.

If councillors approve the scheme there will be new shop fronts, paving, seating, street lights and trees planted along the route in a bid to regenerate the flagging shopping thoroughfare.

Now council bosses have insisted that 'all ideas are on the table', after a proposal to splash the Bolton brand colours above the shop fronts was mocked by shoppers after the plans were revealed in The Bolton News in January.

Residents told the paper that painting the logo colours - red, orange, lilac, green, pink, blue, brown, grey and yellow - would turn Bolton into Balamory, the fictional town on children's television, or Noddy's homeland Toytown.

In artists' impression pictures released by the council, the colour scheme is taken out of some images, and buildings previously painted green, blue and purple are now brown.

Bolton Council’s cabinet member for development and regeneration, Councillor Akhtar Zaman, said it was important for the new shop fronts to create a ‘more uniform appearance’.

He said: “Newport Street is a key route for us, for the public and for our businesses.

“We know it’s in need of regeneration and the shops and building are in a poor condition. Having new shop fronts will create a more uniform appearance and provide consistency to the street.

“Together with the new paving and the planned new layout of the street furniture, we’re really looking to create a safe and welcoming environment for people to enjoy, day and night.

“We know that more people will be using the street once the transport interchange opens, and we want to get the scheme right and improve the street for years to come.”

Now the planning application has been submitted, all shop owners will be asked formally for their thoughts on the plans.

Business owners along Newport Street have been consulted on the colour scheme since it was announced earlier this year.

Up to £2 million has been set aside for the new shop frontages, with £1 million put up to create improvements on the street.

Updated plans from Manchester company JM Architects, who have been selected to deliver the council’s vision, show a new ‘bolt on’ frame which will be attached to shops to provide a ‘consistent’ look along the street.

If approved by the planning committee, work should start in spring and the street is expected to be completed in 2016.

Hakan Bayram, aged 35, of the Moda Hair Salon, said: “I think it will be much better if the shops were all done in different colours. That would look great when it’s new and shiny and if it’s kept to a good standard, the problem would be if the shop fronts degraded then the colours wouldn’t look as good.”

Rehman Sheraz, aged 32, director of Home, said: “Whatever happens, the street needs a lot of money putting into it quickly to improve things here. The work they are doing with the train station will hopefully bring a lot more people into the town and that means that street needs to look a lot more appealing.”

Chris Naylor, aged 25, store supervisor at Entertainment Exchange, said: “I think having the different colours would make the street look a lot nicer. So much of the town – and most other towns – is brown and grey, but having Newport Street looking a bit different and brighter would really make it stick in your memory a bit more.”