CONGESTION charging in Manchester came a step closer as council leaders agreed to submit a bid to the Government for £3bn to improve public transport.

Eight of the 10 Greater Manchester councils - including Bolton - backed the bid, with only Stockport and Trafford voting against it.

If the proposals are accepted, drivers could pay up to £5 per day to drive to and from Manchester during peak times.

The Association of Greater Manchester Councils, which prepared the bid, wants transport improvements - such as a new bus and rail interchange near Bolton Railway Station and 11-mile bus corridor direct to Manchester - underway before any charges are introduced.

AGMA's bid also includes the possibility of new charging zones covering roads into the region's other town centres, including Bolton. However, Bolton's Labour leadership has vowed to fight any such plan.

At yesterday's AGMA meeting, leaders also agreed to consider more trains and extra carriages between Blackburn, Bolton and Salford among its investment priorities, along with improved facilities and more parking spaces at Bromley Cross Station. Bury Council also asked for investment in the East Lancashire Railway to relieve congestion between Bury and Ramsbottom to be considered.

The bid will now be submitted to the Department for Transport on July 31.

AGMA will seek £1 billion from the department's Transport Innovation Fund and plans to borrow a further £2 billion, which will be repaid by income from the congestion fares, which are in integral part of the overall proposal.

Bolton Council leader Cllr Cliff Morris said: "This is just the beginning of the process. We have got to go back to the people of Bolton and consult on this but if we did not put the bid in we would never have any chance of the investment.

"Obviously the interchange is very important and we want to see that in the first phase but now the proposals for Bromley Cross station and Blackburn to Bolton rail services will also be considered."

Cllr Morris said there would be detailed negotiations with the Government before any decision is made over the bid.

He insisted that Bolton retained the right to withdraw support for the bid at any time.

But they may be left powerless - the draft local transport bill, published earlier this year, proposes a shake-up of regional transport bodies to force councils to fall in line.