MORE than 150 people turned out to hear Bolton's Civic Trust issue a rallying cry over the future of Bolton Town Centre at an impassioned public meeting at Bolton Central Library tonight.

Trust members Richard Shirres, Mark Head and Stuart Whittle outlined their key concerns with Bolton Council's plans to redevelop the Town Hall and Newport Street as well as proposals to build a student campus on Cheadle Square.

They also outlined their own "alternative vision" for the town centre, highlighting the need for open and green space, to create a gateway to the town centre in Newport Street and to avoid any alterations to the historic front facade of the town hall.

Urging members of the audience and the wider Bolton public to make representations against the various plans, Mr Shirres, chair of the Civic Trust, said: "We should be thinking about the town centre as a whole, each one of these schemes threatens the quality of key buildings and spaces at the centre of our town.

"There is no quick fix for the town centre and we need to understand what we have to get back for our town centre instead of bringing the town hall to its knees.

"We need as many people as possible to write in to the council and really express how they feel about these plans.

"Talk to your family, talk to your friends, get them fired up - don't stand back, everyone has got to do something."

Read a full report of the meeting on our website tomorrow and in Thursday's edition of The Bolton News.