AN historic town centre building is ready to be brought back to life.

The new owners of Little Bolton Town Hall are hoping to transform the site — which has undergone a £450,000 renovation in recent years — into an upmarket destination for eating, drinking, working, and shopping.

The building, which dates back to 1826, has been empty for a number of years but will soon complement the regenerated Market Place Shopping Centre and the new development at the old Bow Street car park.

Chris and Rebecca Brayshaw have purchased the site, along with her father Mark Hayton, and will be relocating their umbrella business to the former museum this summer.

But the pair now have their sights set on bringing in well-known restaurant chains, a craft beer and wine bar, and innovative retailers to help make the historic building key to the fabric of the town centre once again.

Mrs Brayshaw, from Horwich, said: "We want people to know that something is happening with this building.

"A lot of people in Bolton will drive past it every day and they either won't notice it or they will wonder why it is sat there empty.

"It is a really exciting opportunity — everybody who comes to look at the building is so impressed by it because it has a great atmosphere and feel to it.

"I know there have been a lot of options considered for the building over the years. These days everything seems to be turned into flats, but I think this building is worth more than that — it should be for the general public to use, whether that is as a restaurant, a bar, or whatever else.

"It has a great history and we are looking forward to creating the next step."

The couple have been looking at developing the site for the past two years, after identifying it as a potential location to move their Umbrellaworld business to from the Nortex Business Centre in Chorley Old Road.

They moved their business to the outskirts of the town 10 years ago, but felt that now was the right time to find a new showroom for their corporate-branded umbrellas and offices for their online retail and distribution business.

Mr Brayshaw added: "We really hope that the people and businesses of Bolton get behind this project 100 per cent to further help make our town a thriving destination once again."

Little Bolton was one of the townships that made up the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Bolton le Moors.

As well as its use as a town hall, the building — on the corner of St George’s Street and All Saints Street — was also a court and a police station and was the scene of a Chartist riot in 1839.

It was more recently acquired by specialist heritage developer Simon Linford, who secured funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help with the restoration work.

Mr Hayton, a former retailer on Bolton’s fish markets who now lives in the USA, said: "‘Learning the history of how the Little Town Hall came about, its use as a court room, museum and the scene of Chartist Riots nearly 200 years ago is incredible and something we as a family are incredibly proud to be a part of."

Stephen Young, director of place at Bolton Council, is hopeful that the development will provide a further boost to the regeneration of the town centre.

He said: "This is fantastic news. The council welcomes and is fully supportive of this development.

"There is quite a lot of interest in Bolton from bars and restaurants at the moment, some of which has come from the Market Place and some from the other developments that have been announced."

Businesses wishing to move into Little Bolton Town Hall can contact 07961 690424 or email info@littleboltontownhall.com