BOLTON Council’s new supremo has hailed the ambitious masterplan that will transform the face of town over the coming 12 years.

Tony Oakman, who took over as chief executive earlier this year, gave his clear backing for the Bolton 2030 vision project at a networking event yesterday.

Addressing members of the business community banged the drum for “fantastic Bolton" while talking about the challenges and “difficult decisions” facing the borough in a changing world.

And he said the Bolton that emerges over the coming decade and beyond will have to be different to the one of yesteryear, it is to thrive in the 21st century.

Mr Oakman said: “Internet shopping, that’s why retail has changed retail. It’s brilliant, my wife loves it, every day I come back to see a package from John Lewis or Amazon. The world is changing, hence why we keep hearing about the retail sector.

“We are never going to make Bolton what it was in the 30s, 40s and 50s. It’s never going to happen, because the world is changing, we have to think about what that offer is for Bolton.”

A recent front-page story in The Bolton News revealed historic buildings on Deansgate would be pulled down to make way for a key regeneration scheme.

Some have reacted angrily to what they see as disregard for the town’s history and identity.

But the 58-year-old council boss says that radical change is needed to ensure the town remains vibrant.

He said: “With Central Street, there has been a lot of talk about the old buildings, but we are clearing it. Nobody wants the old buildings and they don’t have heritage orders.”

Mr Oakman outlined the mainly residential plans for the area, which will also open up the river and feature a number of "pocket parks".

He also told business people that news of a “new phase” of development Crompton Place would shortly be revealed to the public.

He continued: “Crompton Place is going to be very different. We want to keep our key tenants but if we create a new retail offer, people will go to Crompton Place instead of the Market Place and we will create decline in a different part of town.

"It’s about a different leisure-time offer. BHS is an eyesore and we are clearing all that - but it’s what we replace it with.

“If we do something the same as the Trafford Centre or Manchester we will end up with the same response. And if they go into decline we will have empty shops again. It’s about can we create a different offer?”

The London-born father-of-two also highlighted the important role the University of Bolton to the future of the town.

He said: “The university has new medical degree and one of the best degrees and facilities for technology.

“When we negotiate with developers we will want to know that type of accommodation students coming here are looking for. It’s not going to be two-up-two-down or town houses but a flat or house rammed with technology. That’s what rocks their boat, not what appeals to a 58-year-old fuddy-duddy.”

He also hailed the progress being made on the Church Wharf side of the £1bn masterplan and the demolition of the old Moor Lane bus station.

And away from the town centre, he highlighted the success of the borough’s industrial hub, Logistics North.

The site which will become base for Amazon and Lidl and by the time it is fully completed in 2022 will generate £17m in business rates and 4,000 jobs.

“You’re even getting a county park thrown in at the back,” he added.

He admitted it was hard running a local authority against a background of cuts and the, once the government’s Revenue Support Grant is phased out, the need to generate revenue solely via council tax and business rates.

But he was bullish about Bolton’s prospects and all it has to offer.

He said: “I have invited a number of people up from different parts of the country and despite what you might read every time someone has said to me ‘what a fantastic place. I didn’t know you had all this. Les Mans Crescent, all the developments, the university. Why isn’t Bolton as a place shouting about it?’”