TOWN hall chiefs have hit out at a report naming Bolton as one of the country's most struggling towns — labelling it outdated and nonsense.

Bolton came third, behind Rochdale and Burnley, on a list of the 12 most economically struggling towns and cities, following research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).

But Bolton Council leader Cllr Cliff Morris said the data used was five years out of date and does not show the investment and improvements being put into the town in recent years.

He said: “This would appear to be another desktop study undertaken by researchers who have no idea what the true position is in Bolton, and have probably not visited the town as part of this exercise.

“They have certainly not contacted the council to obtain any information. The outdated data — from 2001 to 2011 — used in this research does not give a real reflection on what is happening in Bolton right now.

“While there is still work that needs to be done, it does not take into account major key employment sites like Logistics North in Bolton, the largest live industrial development in the North West.

“Sites like this show how Bolton is at the heart of the Northern Powerhouse. Logistics North will bring investment of more than £300 million to the region's economy and will also create thousands of new jobs for our residents.

"The whole site will bring huge long-term benefits to Bolton and the wider region.

“We know that there are issues in the town centre with business rates and absentee landlords who have no idea about the local market but it’s something we’re trying to address."

Deputy chief executive of the council, Keith Davies, said he had been in contact with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to understand the basis of the report.

He added: “We believe it’s nonsense based on the last economic assessment done in 2014, and the progress we’ve made to date with the key developments.”

The research failed to show the £1 billion of investment made in Bolton in the last 10 years, Cllr Morris added.

He cited work on developments including the new cinema and restaurants at the Market Place and the new £48 million transport interchange as examples of progress.

Additional developments include the 1700-home Rivington Chase 'village' and the £50 million academic village in the town centre.

The JRF study found that growth in many northern cities was 'lagging behind' national levels.

It analysed 74 towns and cities with populations over 100,000 people, comparing changes in employment rates, levels of highly-qualified workers, the number and type of full-time jobs, net migration rates, population change and change in rank.

According to the report, Bolton experienced a 57 per cent drop in employment from 2001 to 2011, when compared to other cities and towns.

There was also a 64 per cent drop in full-time workplace jobs through 1998 to 2012, compared to the other areas.

Neighbouring Blackpool experienced a 28 per cent drop in employment from 2001 to 2011 and a 70 per cent drop in full-time workplace jobs through 2009 to 2012, placing it at number 10 in the list.

In comparison London — which JRF identified as out-pacing smaller cities and acting as a ‘brain drain’ on provincial cities — had a drop of 27 per cent in employment and just two per cent drop in full-time workplace jobs from 2009 to 2012.

In the top 12 struggling cities, full-time job creation fell back by 2.1 per cent, compared to growth of 1.9 per cent for the national average and 5.4 per cent in the top 12 best performing cities.

Andy Pike, professor of local and regional development at the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS) at the University of Newcastle was part of the research team.

He defended the statistics used in the research, which he said contained data from the most recent census, which is dated up to 2011, and more recent figures from 2013 which showed the changes in the labour market.

He said: "Basically the report was trying to focus on the uneven growth in the cities across the UK.

"We recognise that lots of these places are trying to develop infrastructure and improve their situation.

"The charge of outdated data misconstrues what the report is trying to do.

"It is not a snapshot of the bottom or the top. Overall it was to get a long term view to understand what has gone on in these cities and be a positive for towns and cities like Bolton by arguing for a spread of prosperity around the Northern Powerhouse."